Black Snow
by Shinigami-cat
Summary: After a terrible incident an insomniac is left terrified and paranoid, fearing the world around him. Is the asylum the only cure for his madness or can someone else break through his shell?
1. Broken

**Shinigami-cat: **And yet another story from me… I OWN NOTHING!

**Summary:**

**After a terrible incident an insomniac is left terrified and paranoid, fearing the world around him. Is the asylum the only cure for his madness or can someone else break through his shell?**

**Warnings:**

**Horror, supernatural stuff and the other stuff you've come to expect from me.**

**Black Snow**

**Broken**

It was a typical warm summers day; the birds were singing, insects over took the air there was just that hot muggy breeze blowing through. As far as Gilbert was concerned this was a perfect day to ride his bike around the outskirts of the sleepy town of Cutter Valley. The only thing he didn't like was stopping every half hour or so to reapply his sunscreen.

He couldn't help it that he was albino. "So unawesome…" He muttered to himself. "I feel so fucking greasy…" Out of the blue his phone started to ring. With a small frown he answered it, not bothering to see who called. "Hello? The awesome Gilbert speaking."

There was an awkward pause before a soft voice began to speak. "Come over. I need you here now. Doctor Braginski hasn't left yet."

Gilbert frowned a little. He knew who exactly was on the other end of the phone. It was his closest friend in the whole wide world, Matthew Williams. I really liked the younger boy… Gilbert just hated his uncle and that doctor. "What do you want me to do? He and your uncle hate me."

"But I need you here!" Said Matthew a little more frantically. "They know about the thing! Please, I need you!"

Gilbert sighed. He knew he couldn't leave Matthew hanging like that. "Don't worry. I'll make that doctor leave. I'll tell that bastard what he wants to hear. It'll be okay."

"… Please hurry." Whimpered Matthew. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "Hurry up before he sends me away! I don't want to leave here! I can't! That thing!"

"Deep breaths Birdie." Said Gilbert soothingly. "I'll be there soon. I'm not too far from your house. Everything will be okay. Just sit tight." He hung up and put his phone away. "Damn it…" He started to peddle as fast as he could to Matthew's house.

Gilbert had first met Matthew when he was eleven. He had decided to go exploring around the creepy old house near the edge of town. He didn't realize at the time that new people were moving in. He wanted to check out the bird aviary to see if he could take any statues. He found Matthew walking around in the aviary and when he asked what Matthew was doing there, he simply smiled as said he lived in the mansion now. From then on the two became close friends.

Even when they were little Gilbert could tell that Matthew was special, he just had that distant air about him. Like his head was always somewhere else instead of down to earth like it should be. Sometimes the albino would see his friend talking to himself and when he confronted him about it the younger would shrug it off saying it was nothing.

Things went on like that for a while, but when Matthew was fifteen something terrible happened. He was attacked. For some reason or another Matthew had vanished from his home and went walking in the forest that surrounded the town and when he was found he was hiding in a cave, all bloodied and cut up.

For his hysterical babbling he got sent to an asylum for a month. After that he was allowed to return home, but still had to visit the doctor every month, or the doctor would come to him.

Gilbert had no idea what had happened to Matthew that night, but he knew that going to that asylum did not make Matthew better, if anything he had gotten worse. He was more paranoid than ever and would throw fits over the smallest things, claiming if he did certain things whatever had attacked him the last time would come back to finish the job.

His fits would always get worse when that doctor came by, he just intimidated Matthew into coughing fits so terrible that if he didn't pass out from lack of oxygen his oesophagus would rip and he would start coughing up blood. The only things that could calm him down during those times were Matthew's stuffed polar bear toy and Gilbert himself.

The albino had seen Matthew at his best and worst times. He had been there when Matthew started to throw himself around his room during a fit and had watched him pour his medicine down the sink, babbling that if he kept taking it the fog would get him and take him away for good. He could never get Matthew to fully explain what the fog was and every time he tried Matthew would accuse him of working with the doctor.

Gilbert quickly peddled through the gates of Matthew's house and scowled at the black jeep, belonging to the doctor. He propped his bike up against the aged wood of the house and yanked on the bell-pull. He was surprised that the house still had something as old as a bell-pull, but he liked the antique nature of the place.

After a few seconds Doctor Braginski answered the door. He was a tall, broad shouldered man with a white beard. His son was in the same class as Gilbert. The doctor had a smile on his face, but cold as ice eyes. "Hello Gilbert." He said with a happy voice that didn't match his eyes. "Why might you be here?"

"I'm here to see Matthew." Said Gilbert politely. He didn't want to cause a fight. He knew it would get him nowhere. "Can I go inside?"

"In a second, I want to ask you a question." Said Doctor Braginski in an almost sickly sweet voice. "Has Matthew been having any fits lately?"

"Fits?" Asked Gilbert, fake confusion laced his voice. "What do you mean sir?"

The doctor's smile faltered a little, but his eyes stayed at their ice cold intensity. "Fits, Gilbert. Has Matthew been well?"

Gilbert frowned a little. In all honestly Matthew's fits had started to get violent again. This mostly happened when Matthew's uncle was out of the house and the poor boy was left alone for long periods of time. Gilbert would always call him while he was at school and send him texts to make sure he was alright, but they weren't always enough.

Many times Gilbert had come over to find Matthew's room completely trashed and on foggy days Matthew's room was in complete lock down. He would lock all doors and windows and close all gaps in the doors with sticky tape. On days like that Gilbert would sit outside Matthew's door and talk to him over the phone.

"No sir." Said Gilbert. "Matthew's been fine. No trouble at all… Well apart from locking himself in his room during a fog but that's just him. Fog phobia and all that."

The doctor raised an eyebrow at Gilbert, not sure if he believed him or not. "Are you sure?"

"Is the Pope Catholic?" Asked Gilbert. With a frown the doctor reluctantly let Gilbert in. The albino smiled triumphantly as he walked to Matthew's room. Briefly stopping to acknowledge Matthew's ever present uncle. Samuel. In many ways the doctor and Samuel were very similar; both were broad shouldered and built looking guys, both had innocent looking smiles that hid venom and both hated Gilbert's presence around Matthew.

As soon as Gilbert was out of the room he heard the two of them talking. That was one of the things he hated about the pair; neither of them thought that Gilbert had enough brain cells to rub two together. It pissed him off. To get back at them he would usually stay behind and eavesdrop on them when he could. They usually talked about Matthew's condition anyway, but today they seemed to start by talking about him.

"I don't like that boy in my house." Muttered Samuel darkly in his gruff voice. "He's bad for Matthew."

"I agree." Said the doctor. "But we can't isolate Matthew completely, it would just make his condition worse."

"How is his condition going anyway?" Asked Samuel.

The doctor sighed. "He's lying about it. Those cuts and bruises don't make themselves. I know he's been having fits again but he won't admit it." There was a short pause. "… Do you think Gilbert has been inflicting them?"

"I don't think so. But I wouldn't put it past him." Growled Samuel darkly. "That little freak has a bad reputation. Seventeen and he already has a record. Bastard spent a few months in juvenile detention… If he is hurting Matthew, he won't admit it. But Matthew goes into hysterics when he's kept away… I don't know what to do."

"Matthew's paranoia might turn into real self-harm one of these days." Said the doctor in a warning tone. "You must check him regularly for more scratches and bruises… If this keeps up he might have to go back to the asylum."

Gilbert had heard enough. He continued to make his way to Matthew's room. '_How dare they think I'm hurting Matthew. I would never do anything like that. If anything he's given me more injuries than anything. He bites really hard._'

To stop Matthew from injuring himself, Gilbert often had to restrain him at his own risk. Many times Matthew had bitten the albino, clawed and kicked him. Gilbert refused to let Matthew go during those times and would just hold him until he had either calmed down or passed out.

At the end of a long and winding corridor was Matthew's room. He could tell because it was one of the few doors that was painted over in a new coat of blue paint. Completely different from the cream and red Victorian inspired interior of the rest of the place.

He knocked twice and slowly opened the door. He was pleasantly surprised to see the room wasn't torn apart like it usually was. He probably cleaned it up for the doctor's visit. Like the rest of the house it was red and cream coloured with a few hints of the treated wood, the ceiling was high and fitted with a tiny chandelier to give it the illusion of being an open space, there was a small dresser next to the bed, a wardrobe pressed up against one wall, a set of draws against the other wall and a small chest at the foot of the for poster bed.

Perched on the edge of the bed looking out the window was Matthew. Physically he would have been quite healthy if it won't for the fact he hardly ate anything. He was as skinny as a stick and as light as a feather. When Gilbert had asked him why he doesn't eat but Matthew just responded with he didn't feel like it or he just forgot to eat.

Gilbert sighed sadly and sat next to his friend. Matthew had long, wavy blond hair that used to be bright and light like it was made of fine strands of silk, but these days it looked more like dead grass. His eyes were an odd shade of violet that used to shine as brightly as the sun, but now they were dull, opaque and as dead and large as a fish one would see in a butchers. The poor kid also had dark black lines under his eyes like someone had wiped charcoal under them.

"How are you feeling today?" Asked Gilbert.

"Sick." Muttered Matthew, his gaze not leaving the window. "I hate it when he comes. He fills my Uncle's head with these thoughts that just aren't true. I hate him so much."

Gilbert smiled sympathetically and gently rubbed Matthew's back. "Don't worry. I told him what he wanted to hear. He'll leave soon, I promise."

"He'll leave, but it won't." Said Matthew coldly. "No matter what it is out there… I see it sometimes. It's trying to make me go back there… into the woods. But I won't go. I'm never going in there again. Never, ever, ever!"

"Deep breaths Birdie." Cooed Gilbert softly. He gently pulled Matthew onto his lap with ease, drawing his face away from the window. "You're starting to hyperventilate again. You don't want to go into hysterics just when the doctor is leaving."

Matthew took a few long deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. After a few moments he leaned into Gilbert's chest and closed his eyes. "You smell like sunscreen."

Gilbert chuckled a little and patted Matthew's head. "That's because I've been riding around town on my bike again."

"You shouldn't do that." Muttered Matthew quietly. "It is out there… It could take you."

"I should be fine as long as it's not during a fog." Said Gilbert in an attempt to humour the fragile teen in his arms.

Matthew thought about this for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, you're probably right…"

Gilbert smiled a little, but after a while he noticed something, Matthew smelt bad. Really bad. "When was the last time you washed yourself?"

He could feel the teen freeze in his arms. "I… um… a month ago…"

"You told me you had a bath last week, two days ago." Said Gilbert. "You reek."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Like you've never gone for weeks without washing."

"Yeah, but that's like two weeks not a month." Said Gilbert. He lifted the blond up and easily carried him out of his room and across the hall to the bathroom. "You are having a bath right now."

"Cold bath." Said Matthew quickly. "No steam."

Gilbert nodded. "Okay, but you can have a warm bath too you know. It doesn't have to have steam."

"Don't care." Muttered Matthew darkly, almost growling it out. "No steam. Can't risk it. Won't risk it."

"It's okay." Said Gilbert quickly. He knew the warning signs for one of Matthew's fits. "You start the bath and I'll get you some clean clothes." He put Matthew down and walked back to his bedroom.

He knew from experience that Matthew would only wear a shirt or hoodie, never both at the same time. It was a quirk of his. He picked out a clean pair of black jeans and a red hoodie from him. When he walked back into the bathroom he wasn't surprised to see Matthew sitting in the bathtub with his knees pressed against his chest.

Gilbert sighed sadly and rolled up his sleeves. He knew that Matthew had trouble taking care of himself. Even the simplest acts like washing himself were strenuous tasks. He put Matthew's clothes on the washing basket and got down on his knees next to the bathtub. He dipped his hands into the water and poured it over Matthew's head. "I'll wash your hair, but you have to do everything else yourself… Why do you still have your glasses on?"

Matthew shrugged and took them off. "I guess I just forgot…"

"Okay…" Muttered Gilbert. He didn't like all the forgetfulness that seemed to occur with his anxiety. The rest of the time in the bathroom was spent in silence for two reasons; one, they didn't have much to talk about and two, if Samuel walked in on this he would try to have Gilbert arrested for sexual assault. It wouldn't have been the first time he had done that.

When that was done and Matthew was dressed again they retreated back to Matthew's room. The pair made themselves comfortable on the bed and ended up lying next to each other in a comfortable silence.

It was at times like these that Gilbert wondered why he bothered to help Matthew so much. He knew he already had the answer, but still had a tough time admitting it to himself. He loved Matthew. He wanted to tell Matthew how he felt, but it never seemed like the right time and he had no idea how Matthew would take it in his fragile mental state.

"Do you know if he's gone yet?" Asked Matthew quietly.

"Maybe." Said Gilbert. "I don't know… Want to do something fun?"

"Depends what it is." Said Matthew nervously.

Gilbert chuckled a little. "I just thought we could go into town for a bit. Most of the kids have gone to Rivertown anyway. So we'll pretty much have the whole town to ourselves. We could go and get ice cream. My treat."

"I'd like that." Said Matthew. "But my uncle…"

"He already hates me and he won't scold you." Said Gilbert. "If we sneak out and he catches us, just tell him I convinced you to go. Simple as that. Besides you need to get out of this house every now and then."

"I don't like blaming you for things you didn't do." Said Matthew quietly. "My uncle keeps getting you in trouble for things you don't do. I hate it."

Gilbert nodded and sat up. He walked over to the window and opened it. Matthew's room was on the first floor so it was easy for them to get away when they wanted to. Gilbert jumped out the window and smiled. "The awesome me will be back in a bit. Just sit tight and I'll get my bike."

He ran around to the front of the house and grabbed his bike. He was a little pissed to see that the doctor's car was still there, but there was nothing he could do about it. Gilbert walked back over to Matthew's window and helped him get out. When they were both out they got on the bike and Gilbert peddled into town.

"Stay away from the wood." Mumbled Matthew into Gilbert's back as he clung to him for dear life. "I hate it. I hate it so much."

"I know you do." Said Gilbert. "But this is the quickest way into town, so it can't be helped. We'll be passed it soon anyway." True to his word they passed the woods in less than a few minutes and were in town.

The town was pretty old, older than dirt. The whole place seemed to be an infusion of Gothic and Victorian styles, with just a hint of the modern. It was weird, but somehow it worked. "Why is everything so old and broken?" Asked Matthew quietly. "It just… It just isn't right…"

"The older people want to preserve the towns heritage." Said Gilbert with a shrug. "Pretty much every building here is heritage listed so they can't be knocked down or changed." They pulled up in front of an ice cream shop. They both got off the bike and went inside.

For a small town they had a surprisingly wide selection of ice cream. Gilbert bought Matthew a single scoop of maple flavoured ice cream and he got himself chocolate. With their ice creams in hand the pair sat on the curb of the road silently ate. In all honesty, Gilbert hated the silence but he had no idea how to break it with Matthew. One word or phrase out of place and he could start screaming.

"So… Get any sleep lately?" Asked Gilbert cautiously.

Matthew shook his head. "I've been awake for forty eight hours straight. I'll probably crash by tonight… I hate sleeping. When I close my eyes I live it over and over again."

Gilbert didn't have to ask twice about what he meant. "Oh… Well you still should get some sleep."

"I know." Said Matthew miserably. "Take me home Gilbert. Take me home now."

"But you only just got out of the house." Whined Gilbert. "The awesome me wanted to have more fun with you."

"I just have this feeling someone's watching us." Said Matthew quickly. "Just take me home now. It'll be night soon and it might come back."

Gilbert sighed a little, but did what he was told and took Matthew back home. By the time they got back the sun was starting to set a little and it was getting dark. Matthew was getting nervous again, breathing quicker than normal. Gilbert sighed a little at this and pushed open Matthew's window. He then helped the blond get back inside.

"Are you going to be okay now Birdie?" Asked Gilbert in concern.

Matthew smiled sheepishly. "Yeah… I had fun today. Thank you for still being my friend even though I'm broken."

"You're not broken." Said Gilbert. "You never were and you still aren't now."

"At least you think so…" Said Matthew quietly. "My uncle treats me like I'm retarded."

"He still does that?" Asked Gilbert in disbelief. "That's stupid! You're not retarded you're just…"

"Broken." Said Matthew sadly. "Thanks for making me feel normal every now and then… It's nice to feel like I belong somewhere."

Gilbert smiled sadly. "Well tomorrow is a new day and the awesome me will not let you stay frowning for long. I'll be over after school. I'll show you what we're learning and stuff so it'll be easier when you come back. Sound like a plan?"

Matthew blushed a little and nodded. "Yeah, I like that. Good night Gil, see you tomorrow." With that Matthew closed his window and proceeded to lock it and cover it with the thick, cream coloured curtains.

The albino took a moment to just look at those curtains sadly. He was always worried when he left Matthew alone when he was really sleep deprived like he was now. He would either fall asleep as soon as his face touched the pillow or would end up doing something crazy. One time he ended up carving numbers into the table. By morning it was so riddled with cuts that it fell apart as soon as any pressure was applied to it, like it was made of foam.

"See you tomorrow Birdie…" He muttered as he got back on his bike and peddled away.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Was this any good? I'm not too sure, but I hope you all liked it. Please review!


	2. Hallucinate

**Shinigami-cat: ** I hope you all like this next chapter… I OWN NOTHING!

**Hallucinate**

It was almost midnight and Matthew was still wide awake. He wasn't sure what he could do so he was just lying in his bed looking up at the ceiling, counting the number of crystal things there were on the chandelier. Once he had gotten home he wasn't surprised to see that his Uncle was furious that he had left the house with Gilbert again.

This had accidently sent Matthew into a panic attack where he started hyperventilating and pulling out his hair. It took about five minutes for Samuel to calm the boy down again, reassuring him that he wasn't upset with him and giving him his polar bear toy didn't hurt either. After that Matthew retreated to his room and just stayed there. Even from his room he could smell his uncle lighting cigarettes again.

It didn't used to be like that. Samuel hadn't smoked for years, but he started up again around the time Matthew came back from the asylum. Matthew could only guess he did it because he was stressed. He couldn't blame him for it. He knew he was a nuisance. He could hardly do anything by himself, he felt like he was going mad.

Something tapped against his window making him sit up in bed. Matthew clutched the bed sheets close to his chest and he stared at the curtain with fearful eyes. '_It's only a tree branch…_' He thought to himself. '_No way that's actually it… It isn't it. That thing would never come so close to the house… I hope._'

Matthew gulped and started to pick at his eyelashes and eyebrows, ripping them out in small clumps. He knew this was bad, but he couldn't help it. It made him feel better. After a while he calmed down enough to lay back down and try to get back to sleep. It wasn't working. He hated being like this, it was just so agonizingly boring and stressful. He hated living in so much fear all the time.

'_I need to pull it together._' He thought to himself. '_This is just… I can't even think of a word for it. Intolerable? Yeah, that sounds right…_' As he watched the ceiling he sighed a little. The paint and chandelier were starting to blur in his vision. This meant one of two things; he was either going to pass out due to exhaustion or he was finally falling asleep. Either way he was going to get some sleep.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

All his dream started out the same. He was standing in the middle of the woods that surrounded the town with nothing but an oil lamp for protection. He would always be standing at the base of a tall, leafless tree. In the hollow of the tree were dead vines, dried and snapped. They looked like they once held something there.

It always sent chills up his spine. He knew he couldn't stay there at the tree or the thing would easily find him, but he couldn't run either. It was a lose-lose situation for him. But if he ran he would have some chance of surviving, even if it was only for a little bit longer.

A chilling wind blew through the air. It sounded like a woman was screaming. It made him shudder. He gulped and started walking through the trees with his lamp. He could only just see through the fog. As far as he could see it was just trees, shrubs and more fog.

Matthew whimpered a little. "Okay… it's no big deal… I just have to get through this… I have to get back to town… If I do that, this nightmare might be over…"

As he walked through the woods the strange howling wind started to pick up a little. It was scary, unbelievably scary. This dream was horribly vivid, just like all the others, but for some reason it just seemed a little too realistic.

"I have to get out of here…" He muttered. "I just have to get back to town, back home. I can do this… I just have to keep following this path and hope for the best… Oh God, it's branching off…" He had no idea whether to go left or right. "I just have to be calm about this… Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit…" There was a shriek. Matthew jumped and started to run for his life. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" He screamed. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Tears were streaming down his face as his heart started to beat faster and faster in his chest. This was too much for him, to relive this nightmare over and over again when he closed his eyes… It wasn't fair. He didn't deserve this. Why did he have to suffer?

Eventually he came to a road, he had never gotten this far before. He ran down the road as quickly as he could. He eventually found a welcome sign to Cutter Valley. He felt like he could weep with joy. He might finally end this cycle of torment once and for all, but all hope was dashed when he saw a thick black smoke circling the town.

The smoke was impenetrable. No matter what he did he could never breach it. He had charged at it, thrown his lamp at it and tried to cut it with sharp rocks. He was stuck there, out in the woods forever. With a small cry he dropped his oil lamp, letting it shatter against the ground.

"No…" He whimpered. "No…" He felt something breathing against his neck. The thing was there. He let out a small sob. "No…"

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

With a terrified shriek Matthew sat up, wide awake in his room. He took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself. "It was all a dream…" He panted. "A horrible, horrible dream…" He knew he should be used to his dreams, but they were so scary.

When he eventually calmed down he sighed and put on his glasses. It was then he noticed that the curtains of his room were open. '_But I… I closed them last night…_' His heart started to beat faster and faster as a new fear gripped him. '_Did it… did that thing get in last night?_'

The thought made him shiver. There was always the possibility that his uncle had opened it, but that was very unlikely. With a small whimper Matthew reached out and grabbed his stuffed bear, holding it close. He knew it was stupid for a sixteen year old to have a stuffed animal with them, but it made him feel better.

The polar bear's full name was Kumajiro, but was shortened to Kuma because Matthew had difficulty remembering the whole name. He had gotten the bear from his grandmother, who has since passed away, for his first birthday. He had become quite attached to it and had carried it around with him his whole life. Even when he still went to school he carried the bear with him, even if he just stuffed it into his backpack for safe keeping.

He sighed a little as he held the bear close in arms and breathed in its sent. For some reason it always smelt like lavender and other gentle herbs. His mother had said it might have been because his grandmother was a big believer in herbal medicines and believed the right kind of herb or spice could fix anything.

"Do you know who opened my window Kuma?" He asked the stuffed bear.

"No clue." Said Kuma with a small shrug in his slightly high pitched voice. "Who are you?"

Matthew sighed. "I'm Matthew. We've known each other since I was born…"

"Oh… Feed me." Said the stuffed animal. Matthew smiled happily and got out of bed, still holding the animal in his hands. Screw changing out of pyjamas, it wasn't like he was leaving the house anyway.

He opened his door and walked down the hallway to the kitchen. As he walked he noticed the walls were convulsing slightly, almost like they were breathing. But he was used to that. The doctors said he hallucinated a lot to certain degrees, so he just assumed that this was either real or a mind trick. Matthew yawned a little as he walked into the kitchen. There was a note stocky taped to the fridge. He picked it up and read it with a small frown.

_Dear Matthew  
__I noticed you actually managed to get to sleep last night. Good for you. Try to get to sleep again tonight. Anyway I'll be back at four so don't panic. There's plenty of food to eat and don't use the microwave, oven, grill, stove or any other cooking thing that uses electricity or can catch on fire. Try to have a good day.  
__Samuel._

"Who's it from?" Asked Kuma.

Matthew smiled a little and put Kuma on the black marble counter top. "It's from my uncle… He's just telling me the usual stuff; be good, try to get more sleep, don't set the house on fire and be back soon. The usual stuff."

"Don't know any uncle." Said Kuma. "I want pancakes."

Matthew chuckled a little and took two apples out of the fruit bowl. He washed both of them and put one in front of Kuma. "I'm not allowed to cook when I'm alone. If you want pancakes you have to wait for Gilbert to come over… My uncle won't even let me cook when he's home…"

"I don't like your uncle." Said Kuma as he batted the apple around with his paws. "He's mean. I want pancakes. Not red fruit."

"Apples are good for you." Said Matthew. He took a bite of his apple and smiled. "See? They taste good and they are healthier than pancakes…"

Kuma frowned and sniffed the apple a little. "You should check your phone. That funny red eyed kid might have called again… I don't like him. He smells like sunscreen."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "We've been over this before, Kuma. Gilbert smells like sunscreen because his albino. He has no pigment in his skin, that means he is more likely to get skin cancer if he doesn't put it on all the time… He doesn't have to put it on of over cast days like today, but when it's really hot he has to."

"He still smells funny." Said Kuma. He batted the apple around a little more before knocking it off the table and onto the floor. "I want pancakes. Not red fruit."

Matthew sighed and picked up the apple, putting it back in the fruit bowl. "That's going to bruise and you know it… Samuel will think I changed my mind and put it back at the last second… Strange person that he is…"

"You shouldn't throw stones." Said Kuma. "You live in a glass house."

The blond shrugged and threw his half eaten apple out. "Yeah, yeah I know… A mad person shouldn't call other's mad." He picked up Kuma and walked back to his room. This time the red paint was running down the walls like fresh blood as the walls continued to contract like they could breath.

It made Matthew shudder a little, but he got over it. Walls dripping blood was, sadly nothing new to him. Matthew held tighter to Kuma as he quickly ran back into his room and locked the door. He then quickly closed the curtains, picked up his phone and sat in his bed. It was midday already, much to Matthew's surprise.

'_Midday… I wonder if it's lunch time at the school?_' As Matthew pondered this he checked his message box. He had gotten two or three texts from his uncle to ask if he was okay. Matthew quickly responded to those ones. He also had over fifty texts from Gilbert. Starting from six in the morning all the way to five minutes before he woke up.

The first few were the albino's usual good morning messages and asking of he managed to get to sleep, but the last ones were more along the lines of asking him if he was still alive. With a small chuckle Matthew texted Gilbert, saying he only woke up a few minutes ago from another nightmare and how he was still indeed alive.

A few minutes later Matthew's phone started to ring. The blond chuckled and answered it. "Hello Gilbert."

"Hey Birdie." Came Gilbert's enthusiastic voice. "So are you really okay?"

"I'm fine." Said Matthew. "Everything's going pretty well so far today. Kuma is being his usual self, asking me who I am and stuff… But that's the normal for him."

"… Yeah, anyway did anything else happen when you got up?" Asked Gilbert. Matthew nervously bit his bottom lip. "Birdie? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I am." Said Matthew quietly. "I just… When I got up this morning my curtains were open… At first I thought the thing had gotten in, but now that I think about it, it could have been my uncle… I scared the heck out of me for a while."

"It was probably your uncle." Said Gilbert. "Speaking of him, when did he getting back."

Matthew frowned a little. "Um… One second." He looked down at Kuma who was sitting on his lap. "When's my uncle getting back again?"

"I don't know." Said Kuma. "You didn't read the note out to me. But he usually comes back at four."

Matthew smiled and patted Kuma's head. "Thanks Kuma… He should be back at around four."

"Awesome!" Said Gilbert happily. "As soon as schools over I'll be over, so that's like two hours. I'll call if I'm running late."

"You don't have to keep worrying about me." Said Matthew calmly. "I'll be fine."

"Sounds like you're having one of your better days today." Said Gilbert.

Matthew chuckled a little. "I guess so."

Kuma started to paw at Matthew's shirt. "Change into day clothes. It's not night time. Change into day clothes. Your night clothes smell funny. Change now."

Matthew rolled his eyes and batted Kuma's paws away. "I'll see you this afternoon. I have to go now. Kuma's being rude again." He hung up and put his phone on the bedside table. "That was rude Kuma. I was on the phone."

"To the sunscreen man." Said Kuma. He continued to paw at Matthew's shirt. "Change clothes."

Matthew rolled his eyes and got off the bed. He walked over to his wardrobe and opened it. Wooden teeth lined the top and bottom of it and the distinct sound and hot breeze of breathing could be felt from within the wardrobe. Matthew frowned a little and quickly grabbed the first two things he saw; a pair of black pants and a dark green shirt.

When he was dressed he did a small turn. "What do you think Kuma?"

Kuma tilted his head to the side. "Who are you?"

"I'm Matthew…" Sighed the blond sadly.

Kuma shrugged. "Never heard of him…" He crawled over to Matthew's bedside table and tapped a large glass bottle that had a prescription label stuck to it. "Time for your medicine."

Matthew sighed and picked up the bottle. This medicine was meant to help calm him and reduce the hallucinations. In truth it did do that, but it made his nightmares a million times worse and a thousand times more bloody. It was like his medication gave the thing super speed and strength.

With the bottle in hand and Kuma in the other, Matthew walked into the bathroom and poured half of it down the sink. Thick, slow moving green liquid congealed at the bottom of the skin, slowly moving down the drain. By turning on the hot water, Matthew was able to get rid of any remaining medication. His heart did race a bit when steam started to rise, but he quickly got rid of that with a quick blast of cold water.

Kuma frowned a little. "Why did you do that?"

"The medicine does nothing but make it worse." Said Matthew calmly. "If I keep taking it… That thing out there will keep getting stronger and stronger until… I just can't risk it."

Kuma shrugged. "Whatever… Who are you?"

"I'm Matthew." Said the blond sadly. "Why don't you remember my name?"

"Because I don't." Said Kuma. "What now?"

Matthew shrugged. "I guess we could watch TV until Gilbert comes over or we could just talk for a bit…"

"When the sunscreen guy comes over can we eat pancakes?" Asked Kuma.

Matthew nodded. "Sure. Gilbert likes pancakes too, so he'll definitely let me cook." Kuma made a happy noise as he wiggled in Matthew's arms. This made Matthew chuckle a little. He walked back into his room and put the medicine bottle back and picked up his phone. Gilbert, being Gilbert had sent him some pictures of lol cats.

Matthew chuckled a little and walked out into the lounge room. The lounge room reminded him a little of a mouth because the chandelier in the middle of the room looked a lot like a uvula. And there were thick ropes of saliva and snot. He took a seat on the lounge that seemed to sigh under his weight. Kuma crawled off Matthew's lap and sat next to him.

"I want food. When is sunscreen guy getting here?" Whined Kuma.

Matthew chuckled and turned on the TV. "In two hours. Just sit tight and watch TV with me for a bit."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Just to clear some things up; Matthew's nuts and hallucinates a fair bit, but everything is woven into his daily life that he can't tell the difference between reality and his hallucinations. Kuma isn't actually able to talk, Matthew just thinks he does. Also the walls don't move and they sure as hell don't breathe or bleed… Finally Samuel is one shitty guardian. I mean who the hell leaves someone like that at home alone? Please review!


	3. Morgue

**Shinigami-cat: **So… here's the next chapter… I OWN NOTHING!

**Morgue**

The end of school bell had just rung and Gilbert was gathering his things from his locker. As he was gathering his stuff tanned hand snaked their way up his shirt and tickled. Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Nope. It isn't going to work Antonio. I'm not ticklish."

The tanned hands moved away and Antonio, said owner of the hands, pouted. "What kind of person isn't ticklish?" Antonio was one of Gilbert's closets friends. He was the same age as Gilbert but was just a little taller than him. He had tanned skin, chocolate brown hair and bright green eyes. Antonio was a happy guy that everyone liked.

"Gilbert, obviously." Said a slightly seductive male voice. The owner of the voice was Gilbert's other friend Francis. He had bright blue eyes, long wavy blond hair and a little chin stubble. He was a big flirt and would use his ability to seduce others for his entertainment. He wasn't a bad person and would never take anything too far. He just liked seeing how far he could push the boundaries.

Gilbert grinned. "Well that's because I'm awesome. You two ladies doing anything after school?"

"Assignments." Said Francis and Antonio in unison. In all honesty Gilbert should have been doing his assignments too, but he worked better when he had less than a day to do stuff. That's how he kept his C average.

The albino chuckled a little and gathered the last of his books. "Good luck with that you two. I have better stuff to do."

"Going to visit Matthew?" Asked Francis curiously.

Gilbert blushed a little and nodded. "Ja… What of it?"

Antonio chuckled a little. "Seriously amigo, when are you going to tell him? It's been years, like way before he went loco."

"Don't call him that." Hissed Gilbert darkly. If there was one thing that really pissed him off it was when people called Matthew crazy. Matthew wasn't crazy, insane, mad, loco or any other offensive term.

"Sorry…" Muttered Antonio.

Francis rolled his eyes and slung his arm over Antonio's shoulder. "Don't be so harsh on him Gilbert. We know you don't like to call him those things, but when someone starts screaming about monsters and is forced to go to an asylum… Their sanity is questioned quite a bit."

Gilbert rolled his eyes and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Whatever… I'm going now. So you guys later."

As he walked out to the bike rack everyone else parted like the red sea to let him through. He was known throughout the school as being a badass, but ever since he got back from juvenile detention everyone had pretty much been scared of him. He had only been there for about a month. Not even a year and for some reason that meant he was bad news.

He didn't even know why he got sent to juve in the first place. Sure he caused a fair bit of property damage to the school and broke someone's arm and some other kid had to get stitches, but that was about it. He was just lucky that his grandfather was the vice principle or he would have had to gone all the way into Rivertown to go to school. That would have sucked.

He got on his bike and started to make his way back to Matthew's house. On the way there he stopped off at a corner shop and bought some juice. Since Matthew didn't eat much, drinking was the next best option. Vitamin C and all that.

When he eventually got to Matthew's house he texted him and yanked on the bell-pull. A few seconds later the blond opened the door. He looked the same as he did yesterday, but his eyes seemed brighter. That was always a good sign. "Come on in, Gil."

Gilbert smiled and walked inside. "How are you today Birdie? You sounded pretty chipper on the phone."

"I've had a good day so far." Said Matthew quietly. "Hey um… Kuma wants pancakes, so can I make some?"

"Of course." Said Gilbert. He loved it when Matthew cooked. Cooking seemed to calm Matthew down a lot and for a time, whatever the poor boy seemed to see disappeared.

Matthew smiled brightly and walked off to the kitchen. "Thanks Gilbert."

"No problem Birdie." Said Gilbert as he followed him. Although Matthew was a good cook and knew his way around the kitchen there was always the chance he would space out and set something on fire by accident. That's the whole reason Samuel won't let Matthew cook in the first place.

Gilbert sat on the counter as he watched Matthew gather everything he needed for the pancakes. As Matthew was working, Gilbert noticed a small ashtray full of cigarette butts. "So Samuel's still taking cancer sticks?"

"Yeah…" Muttered Matthew sadly. "Well at least he's not drinking, right? Beer and wine give him headaches… Besides he's so stressed all the time. Sometimes I think it would be best if I just disappeared…"

Matthew had a tendency to talk like that when he thought he was causing problems for everyone else. As far as Gilbert knew he never acted on them, but it still worried him when Matthew was stuck in such a dark mindset.

"It's his own fault." Said Gilbert casually. "If he wasn't so busy all the time he could take a moment or two to chill out and relax. He's like working ten hour shifts a day isn't he? He really needs some time off. Take a sick day or something and chill."

Matthew chuckled a little as he poured the batter into the frying pan. "I guess so. It would be nice to spend more than a few hours with him… At least he has Fridays and Sundays off." Matthew had always cared very deeply about his uncle, seeing as how he was the only family he had left in the world. He would always do his best to make his uncle happy, but these days it was almost impossible to make Samuel smile.

"It's okay Birdie." Said Gilbert calmly. "Let's talk about something else instead of that depressing stuff." He took the bottle of orange juice he bought for Matthew out of his backpack and put it on the counter. "I got you something to drink on the way here… Thought you might like it better than water."

Matthew chuckled a little as he stacked the pancakes up on three different plates. "Thank you Gilbert. That's sweet of you to think of me."

A small blush made its way onto Gilbert's face. "Yeah, well… I'm awesome and awesome people don't forget their awesome friends."

This made Matthew smile a little. "Thanks for sticking by me Gilbert… I know it must be hard to have a friend who's so… so like me… I really don't deserve your friendship."

Gilbert smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes. In his mind Matthew had it backwards. Gilbert felt that he didn't deserve to have someone as kind as Matthew as his friend. "You make it really difficult sometimes Birdie."

Matthew tilted his head to the side slightly, as if he was processing some complicated maths problem. It was cute, but also a little concerning. It always took Matthew a little longer than usual to understand what was being said around him. It reminded Gilbert a little of a computer, filtering through the words to pick up the key points and then at the end of it all he would come to a relatively appropriate response for the answer.

"I see…" Muttered Matthew. He got some forks and maple syrup, putting them on the counter. "I'll be back… I just need to get Kuma." He walked out of the room and returned shortly with his toy.

Gilbert didn't particularly like Kuma that much, but he knew how much he meant to Matthew so he didn't say anything. His main reason for disliking Kuma was that Matthew thought he was alive. Kuma was a toy. A stuffed polar bear for crying out loud. Children pretend that stuffed animals are real. Not teens. For a teenager to cling so much to toy was just odd.

To take his mind off the toy, Gilbert drowned his food in syrup and started to eat. Matthew's cooking was the best. "This is awesome Birdie, like always." Said Gilbert happily. This made Matthew smile as he ate. When they were done Gilbert put the dishes in the dishwasher. "So should I catch you up on what you're missing at school yet?"

Matthew frowned for a moment. "I um… I actually wanted to show you something… In my room first… If that's okay with you…"

This was new. Matthew actually sounded nervous for once about showing Gilbert something. The small blond knew he could show anything to Gilbert without the other getting angry at him. "Sure."

Matthew smiled a little. "Okay… Just wait here for a second… I want to show you something I found first. It'll only take a second I promise." Before Gilbert could answer Matthew had already run up the hall to his room. To occupy his time, Gilbert ate the pancakes left out for Kuma. It wasn't like the toy could eat them.

'_Wonder what he wants to show me…_' Wondered Gilbert. '_Maybe a bug he caught or something._' A few moments later Matthew had returned to the kitchen holding a skull in his hands. Not a plastic one. A real human skull. Gilbert had no idea what to think. He just looked at the skull then back to Matthew in shock.

Matthew nervously played with his hair. "Well… um… this is part of what I wanted to show you…"

"Did you wind it under the floor boards or something?" Asked Gilbert in slight horror. "How the hell did you get that?"

Matthew blushed a little. "No, I actually found it in my wall." Noticing the confused expression on his face, Matthew smiled and held his hand out to Gilbert. "Come on. It's hard to explain unless you see it."

Cautiously Gilbert took Matthew's hand and let the blond lead him into his room. When they got there Matthew walked over to his wardrobe and pushed the clothes away. Right at the back of the wardrobe was a door with no doorknob and it was covered in chipped plaster. In old houses it wasn't uncommon for doors to get sealed off from the rest of the house.

Matthew easily pushed open the door and looked back at Gilbert. "You might want to get a flashlight or something. It's pretty dark down here and your eyesight kind of sucks in the dark…"

"I know." Said Gilbert. He grabbed a flashlight off Matthew's bedside table and walked back over to him. "So… What's down there?"

The smaller blond smiled a little. "It's actually pretty cool… Did you know that there used to be a morgue here and that the previous owner built his house around the morgue?"

This was new to Gilbert. He would have to check that later. "No…"

For some reason this made Matthew's smile grow wider. "Cool. Now I have something awesome to show you." With that Matthew disappeared through the door. Gilbert sighed inwardly and followed Matthew. There was a small set of steps that travelled downwards. With the flashlight Gilbert could easily see Matthew opening the door at the bottom.

"You sure we should be down here?" Asked Gilbert as he followed Matthew.

Matthew shrugged. "Well, I like it down here… and I've been coming here for ages. Mostly when I can't sleep at night… It's really peaceful down here."

Gilbert followed Matthew through the door and was surprised to say the least. It looked like a typical morgue with the tiled floors, metal tables and those weird cabinets in the wall used to keep bodies fresh, but there were a couple of pillows and even a bean bag in one corner. It seemed like Matthew did spend a fair bit of time down there if the candy wrappers were anything to go by.

As Gilbert looked around the place, Matthew happily walked over to a skeleton and stuck the skull back on. "The body was donated, so don't worry. I didn't dig it up anywhere."

"Does Samuel know about this place?" Asked Gilbert curiously.

Matthew shrugged. "I he knows he thinks I haven't found it yet." He sat down on a beanbag and sighed contently. "I like it here… It's quiet and everything is just… still."

Gilbert nodded a little. "Yeah it's a nice place… if you like dead things…"

"Oh…" Muttered Matthew. "I just thought you might like it… I mean I've cleaned it up heaps since I first found it and I've tried to make it look nice and everything…" A sad Matthew was not a happy Matthew.

Gilbert sighed and crouched down in front of Matthew. "Hey… Don't get upset. I think it's awesome that you showed me this place… I just don't really see the appeal of hanging out in an old morgue."

"It's okay…" Said Matthew sadly. "I guess not everyone would understand how it feels to be in a room that's so still and quiet… This is kind of why I didn't really want to tell you about this place… But Kuma said that you should probably know about it because you know pretty much everything else about me…"

Perhaps Kuma wasn't as big of a pain as Gilbert thought. "Well it was nice of Kuma to suggest that… I still think it's weird that you like this place, but if it makes you happy, I can't complain. Now let's get to that school stuff. We can stay here if you like."

Matthew smiled a little. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay then…" Gilbert took some books out of his backpack and sat next to Matthew. "So in maths the teacher revised Simpsons rule with us… You know FML."

Matthew nodded. "Yeah… I can't believe FML is actually a maths thing. What does it stand for again? First, middle, last?"

"Ja, or fuck my life." Said the albino.

Matthew chuckled a little and looked over Gilbert's note book. A small smile graced his face. "I remember this… You showed it to me before… Was that pretty much it?"

"Pretty much." Muttered Gilbert. "That was pretty much the only we did. Everything else was pointless talk about this and that… Anything interesting happening?"

"Nothing much." Said Matthew dreamily. "But I still think it is out there… It's becoming foggy in the mornings again… I worry about you Gilbert. You get up early in the morning. There's a chance it might try to take you too… I don't want you to go through what I went through…"

Gilbert sighed a little. '_What the hell is that thing? Why won't he just tell me already? It's not fair… I'm doing my best here._'

"I'm sorry." Whispered Matthew. "Please don't be upset…"

"I'm not upset." Said Gilbert. "I just… Find it hard that you don't tell me exactly what's wrong. I want to know what that thing is. You don't tell me anything about it at all. All I know is that it's dangerous and it attacked you."

Matthew gulped and looked away, shaking a little. "Please… don't make me describe it… I've been trying to forget what it looks like for so long…" His eyes started to dart around the room quickly as he pulled his knees to his chest. "I-I don't want to… I don't want to remember…"

"Shit…" Muttered Gilbert. He quickly picked Matthew up and held him close. "Sorry Birdie. I'm so sorry. Please don't freak out again. I'm sorry."

Matthew took a few deep breaths and calmed down a little. "I'm fine now, really…"

So many things could set the poor blond off. It just wasn't fair for him to suffer so much. Gilbert just wanted to help him and make everything better. But every time he tried to get close to him, to try and find out was haunting him, Matthew just shut him out. Was he not good enough for him or something? He needed to stop thinking those thoughts.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

After about an hour Gilbert went home, just in time too. He saw Samuel's truck driving up the road. He resisted the urge to flip the old man the bird. He didn't feel like getting yelled at today. With a sigh he ended up traveling right back to his house. It was almost as large as Matthew's place, but it was just that much smaller.

His place was based more around the Gothic style as opposed to the Victorian style of Matthew's place. The majority of the interior was a grey stone coloured or black and white marble. Gilbert's younger brother had commented that it felt like living in a chess board.

Gilbert leaned his bike against the side of the house and opened the door. "The awesome me is back… Anyone home?"

"In here." Called a voice from the lounge room. With a grin Gilbert walked in there to see his brother scribbling down the last of his homework. His brother had short blond hair and bright blue eyes. Like most of the men in his family, his brother was pretty strict and a little up tight at times, but he was still a good kid. Gilbert could have been considered the black sheep of the family purely because of his loud and excitable attitude.

Gilbert walked up to his brother and messed up his hair a little. "More boring maths Ludwig? That's so boring. Do something fun for once. Hang out with some friends or something… You're friends with that Japanese kid and that Italian right? Hang out with them."

Ludwig sighed and rolled his eyes. "You mean Kiku and Feliciano right? Well Kiku's parents have grounded him because he scoured lower than his average and Feliciano's brother didn't want to be stuck home alone with their grandfather."

"Speaking of elders, has ours come by to make sure we haven't burnt down the place while or dear parents are away on yet another business trip?" Asked Gilbert curiously.

"Ja." Said Ludwig, not looking up from his homework. "He asked how you were, since he never sees you anymore and just made sure everything was still okay."

This made Gilbert smile a little. Their grandfather always took good care of them when their parents weren't around. Which was quite often. Gilbert didn't understand why they had kids if they had jobs that required them to travel a lot. It was weird, but it didn't matter to Gilbert. With them away he pretty much had run of the house, being the responsible big brother that he was.

Gilbert grinned. "Okay, well I'm going to cook dinner if you're still doing your stuff." He walked into the kitchen and grabbed some meat that was left defrosting in the fridge. It looked like they would be having some stir-fry chicken tonight, lazy person style. In other words boiled rice, cooked chicken strips and steamed vegetables mixed together with a fried egg.

With a small sigh he started to cook the chicken. '_It's forecast to be cold for the next few days… Damn it. It might start to get foggy in the morning again… The next few days are going to be hell… Poor Matthew…_' He shook his head a little and tried to concentrate on cooking, but just thinking about the fog reminded him of Matthew's terrified shrieks as he was hauled off to the asylum.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Yep… Not much I can say about this one… please review!


	4. Twisted

**Shinigami-cat: **On with the next chapter I think… I OWN NOTHING!

**Twisted**

Matthew was sitting in his room by the time Samuel got back. He seemed to be in an alright mood for once. He knocked on Matthew's door before entering. "Hey Mattie." He said, half smiling but it didn't reach his tired eyes.

Matthew smiled back with the same enthusiasm. "Hi… How was your day? Tolerable I hope."

"Yeah, yeah… tolerable." Muttered Samuel. He sighed a little and sat on the edge of Matthew's bed. "I noticed Gilbert as I was coming up… Was he over again?"

Matthew nervously looked down at his lap and scratched the back of his head. Starting to nervously pull at it. "Yeah… He's just trying to make sure that I don't fall behind… I don't want that. It would be bad."

"You know I don't like him coming over." Said Samuel in a calm but firm voice. It unintentionally sent chills up Matthew's spine.

"I know." Said the small blond in a whisper quiet voice, so small that Samuel almost didn't hear him. Matthew started to pull out strands of his hair. "But he's the only friend I have…"

"What about me?" Asked Kuma.

Matthew smiled and picked up Kuma, putting him on his lap. "The only human friend I have. He makes me happy… and I don't like it when you make him leave. He's my best friend… You didn't seem to care before he went to juve."

Samuel frowned a little. "Matthew… do you even know why he went there?"

"No." Admitted Matthew. That was half a lie. Gilbert had said he had done some vandalism at the school, but Matthew didn't think that was enough for someone to get sent away for two months. But he had no idea how the legal system worked.

"He broke smashed all the windows on the bottom floor, broke a kids arm, smashed another's nose and to top it all off he broke into the chemical closet in the science lab and threw acid everywhere." Said Samuel bluntly. "Do you kind of see why I'm worried when he's around? He's dangerous."

"But he's not like that around me." Said Matthew quietly, keeping his head down. "Gilbert's not violent around me… He keeps me safe…" He knew that Samuel was getting annoyed beyond belief. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment."

"Matthew, you're not a disappointment…" He sighed and patted the smaller blonds head. "Look, I just don't want you to get hurt. You're the only family I have… You want to get take away for dinner?"

Matthew smiled a little. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Good." Said Samuel. Matthew could hear him moving off his bed and walking towards the door. "I want you to wash up while I order it, okay?" With no response from Matthew his uncle sighed and closed the door. When he was gone Matthew ran his fingers through his hair a little.

His uncle did try to protect him. "What do you think Kuma?"

Kuma shrugged. "Let's see… On one paw you've known Gilbert your whole life and trust him… on the other paw he did lie about why he got sent to juvenile detention."

"I meant my uncle…" Muttered Matthew. "What do you think about the way he's acting?"

"He's just trying to protect you." Said Kuma. He yawned a little and crawled off Matthew's lap, walking across the bed. "He's overprotective like Gilbert, but in a different way. Can't be helped."

"I know…" Whispered Matthew sadly. "I just wish they could both get along… It would be nice…"

"Both positives." Said Kuma. "A positive and a positive repel each other like a negative and a negative."

"Since when did you get so smart?" Asked Matthew playfully.

Kuma shrugged and jumped off the edge of the bed and waddled to the door. "I guess I pay more attention. You should wash your hands like Samuel asked."

Matthew sighed and stood up, following Kuma to the door. He put the animal back on his bed and smiled a little. "Okay, I'll be back soon." He walked across the shifting hallway to the bathroom. Once there he turned on the tap. There was a strange gargling noise before a thick stream of blood and maggots flowed out of the faucet and into the sink. Matthew just stood there and watched.

He wasn't afraid of it, not in the slightest. Blood was blood. Water was water. It was just something that was there. He watched the maggots wriggle and writhe as they squirmed around in the sink, trying to escape the gaping drain. After a few moments the blood stopped flowing and the faucet spat out an eye. The blood and maggots continued to flow after that.

The blond gulped a little. '_It's only water… it's not real blood and those aren't really maggots… and that's not a real eye… Oh maple it's looking at me…_' With gritted teeth, Matthew quickly put some liquid soap on his hands, it was the colour of snot, rubbed it into his palms and washed his hands in the blood.

Matthew hated the hot, sticky metallic feel on his skin, but he knew it was just his imagination. Blood and maggots didn't flow out of faucets like water, let alone eyes or the teeth that it was starting to spit out. Matthew gulped and quickly turned off the tap and stared to clean away every drop of blood that he saw. It took several minutes, but he did it.

When he exited the bathroom he could still hear the gurgle of the blood through the pipes of the house. It was disturbing and weird, but Matthew wouldn't have it any other way. He was used to it.

Matthew retrieved Kuma from his room and happily walked down the hall to the lounge room. The hallway twisted and turned in all manner of directions, but eventually Matthew got there. Today it seemed as though the lounge room had taken on a more abstract and twisted.

His uncle was sitting on the floor with the pizza boxes already laid out on the floor. He looked up at Matthew and smiled. "I got you hawaiian. I know that's your favourite."

Matthew smiled and sat down near his uncle and put Kuma down. "Thank you… You want anything Kuma?"

"I don't like pizza." Said the toy. "No fish."

"You shouldn't give her pizza." Said Samuel. "She'll get grease in her fur and it takes forever to wash out."

"I'm a boy!" Snapped Kuma.

Matthew smiled and chuckled a little. "Kuma's a boy. He doesn't appreciate being called a girl."

"Yeah!" Snapped the bear in a huff.

Samuel smiles a little and shrugged. "Sorry about that. Eat your pizza." His made Matthew chuckle and he ate some pizza. After a few minutes of silent eating Samuel spoke up again. "Matthew… You know I love you and want what's best for you right?"

Matthew nodded. "I know."

"That's good…" Said Samuel. "Because the doctor and I decided that instead of visiting once a month he'll visit once a fortnight because your condition doesn't seem to be improving… After a few months if we both think that you aren't getting any better you will have to go back to the asylum for a few months… maybe years."

Matthew just gaped at his uncle in shock. "W-what? You want to-to send me back there? I hate it there! They won't let me see my friends! I'm isolated there! Everything just moves so quickly and the other patients there are like withering paper dolls! I hate it there!"

Samuel sighed. "I know you do… But if you don't get better you will be going back. I just want you to get better, Matthew. If the asylum is the only place where you can get better… I won't have any other choice."

Matthew felt sick. He stood up, taking Kuma with him. "I'm going back to my room… I'm not hungry anymore…" His voice was cold and emotionless. He wanted to get as far away from his uncle as possible.

"Don't be like that." Sighed Samuel. "I'm just trying to help you."

"This is why I hate him." Muttered Kuma. "He calls me a girl and says he's helping you when he's making you sad. He's mean and that doctor's a cock sucking faggot."

Matthew looked down at the bear and frowned. "Don't call people that… Even if they deserve that…" He walked into his room and closed the door, locking it. When he was there he grabbed his quilt off the bed and walked down to the morgue.

In the cold silence of the room he felt at peace. With a smile he opened up one of the body cabinets and pulled out the metal trays. He got on it and pulled the quilt over himself. It was relaxing down here. He knew he shouldn't he down here all the time to try and comfort himself, but it was the only room in the whole house that didn't morph and change. It was weird, but he liked it.

"Hey Kuma… Am I weird?" Asked Matthew quietly.

Kuma shook his head and poked Matthew's nose with his paw. "You're just different. Different is good and different is bad. It just means not the same. Weird is the same. Do you want to be normal?"

"Yes." Said Matthew honestly. He was tired of being the kid with mental problems.

"Why?" Asked Kuma. "Is there a reason you want to be like everyone else?"

Matthew sighed sadly and patted Kuma a little. "I want to be able to go outside by myself again… I don't want to be a burden on Samuel anymore… I want to be able to go back to school again… Have normal conversations with Gilbert again, that kind of thing. It's not fair…"

"Nothing in this world is fair." Said Kuma honestly. "You just have to make do with what you've got. It's the only way to go… You're not going to sleep tonight are you?"

"No." Said Matthew quietly. He sighed a little and closed his eyes. "I don't feel tired… Just stressed… If I go back there I'll lose my mind, even more than I already have… My mind's already in ruins."

"Is it really?" Asked Kuma. He climbed down off Matthew and waddled across the floor. "Is your mind really destroyed or is it just cracked?" Matthew chose not to answer the bear and instead looked up at the ceiling, counting the cracks in the ceiling.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

After what seemed like a few minutes, Matthew sighed and got up. He left the blanket on the try and picked Kuma up. The small bar had made his way to the door. "I guess I should go see what the time is…"

Moon light was pouring through his bedroom window when he entered the room. With a small sigh he put Kuma on his bed and walked over to the window to make sure the window was locked and to shut the curtains.

He locked the window and took a moment to peer out into the darkness. From his window he could see the trees of the surrounding woods. It made him shiver. He knew that thing was out there, with its white face and unnaturally long body. On nights like this he could catch glimpses of it out of the corner of his eye. It was disturbing. It was like the creature was trying to scare him to death.

With gritted teeth, Matthew closed the thick curtains. "Not tonight… Do you want me to leave here or something or do you keep tormenting me to watch me die?"

"Read me a story!" Snapped Kuma. He was jumping up and down on Matthew's bed. "I want a story!"

Matthew smiled softly and crouched down next to his bed, pulling out a box of books. "What do you want to hear?" He asked the toy. "A classic Grim fairy tale or something else like Harry Potter or Deltora Quest?"

Kuma thought for a second. "I want… Deltora Quest… Dragon stones one! I like Filli and Kree. They are awesome animals."

Matthew chuckled and picked up the third book first series. "Sorry Kuma, but I'm nowhere near the third series yet. We're still on the first one, you know the belt? Then we move onto the flute and then the dragon stones."

"It's not a flute!" Snapped Kuma. "It's the magical Pipe of Pirra! The Pipe of Pirra is the magical pipe that defeats the evil Shadow Lord… Not forever because that's the second series… But they still come close! They need the dragons to fully defeat him once and for all!"

"… Have you been reading ahead of me?" Asked Matthew curiously.

Kuma shrugged. "Maybe… You don't read to me enough."

Matthew rolled his eyes and patted Kuma's head. "Fine… But you did like the first series right? It was lots of fun reading about how they got each gem right? And you did say you like Filli and Kree?"

Kuma huffed a little and nodded. "Yeah… What are we up to?"

Matthew sat on the bed and put Kuma in his lap. "Okay… let's see… We're up to the part where Lief, Barda and Jasmine have been thrown into one of the prison cells of the Ra-Kacharz."

"Yay! Escape time!" Cheered Kuma. He made himself comfortable in Matthew's lap and excitedly waited for the next part of the story to be read out to him. This made Matthew smile and he started to read, As he spoke his room twisted and changed into a more pleasurable old fashioned library setting.

Matthew had always loved the look of those places. So many books, so many different words. It was beautiful and helped to keep his mind from darker places. When he got better he hoped to actually go to a library and read something there. He wouldn't really mind what it was, just as long as he could actually do it by himself.

By the time the sun came up Matthew had gotten through two more Deltora books with Kuma. With a small smile, Matthew got up and decided to see how everything looked outside. He was met with a thick blanket of fog. With a strangled cry Matthew fainted.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Yeah… I'm a big Deltora Quest nerd… I love the books and still read them to this day… One of the best book series I've ever read… Deltora is what inspired me to write in the first place… Please review!


	5. ESP & PK

**Shinigami-cat: **I find it interesting how lots of people think that the thing is good old Slenderman. I'm sorry to inform you that Slenderman is not the identity of the monster in the fog, though it is a little similar to that creepy guy. Have a merry Christmas everyone and or Boxing day and or whatever isn't offensive to you day… I OWN NOTHING!

**ESP & PK**

Gilbert has sent several text to Matthew through most of the day to see how he was going. When he didn't get a reply he wasn't sure if Matthew was in trouble or asleep. He really hoped that Matthew was sleeping. At the moment he had a free period and was spending it in the library trying to finish his English assignment.

'_Who ever thought that it was a good idea to do an assignment on poetry can go and die in a hole…_' Thought the miserable albino. It wasn't enough that they had to type up an essay, but the crazy teacher wanted an handwritten copy too.

He was busy scribbling out words when Antonio happened to sit next to him. "Still on that assignment amigo?" He asked curiously. "Isn't it due tomorrow?"

"Why do you think I'm doing it now?" Grumbled Gilbert as he quickly scribbled out a few words. "Damn it… What did you understand about the last poem?"

"The chick got raped." Said Antonio bluntly.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow and quickly looked over his notes. "That's what you got? Oh… I guess the whole getting held by the nape of her neck and feathers pressed against thighs thing gives it away… I really need to pay more attention in class."

Antonio nodded in agreement. "Si, even I'm getting better marks then you… and that's saying a lot. I'm not exactly the brightest kid in class."

Gilbert sighed and whacked his head against the table. "I'm going to fail Standard II English… Do you think I might be able to move down to Standard I English?"

"Not unless you're really stupid or have a learning disability." Said Antonio.

"I'll fake some mental disorder or claim I have ADHD! One of them has to help!" Cried Gilbert in dismay. He couldn't handle the work load anymore. It was way too stressful. The sound of a chair moving caught the albino's attention. He looked over at one of the vacant seats and saw Francis sitting down reading a book. They were lucky to have a free period together.

"Is Gilbert procrastinating again?" asked Francis with a small smirk.

Antonio nodded. "Yep. He still has to finish his English assignment on those poems."

"Naughty, naughty." Taunted Francis playfully as he started to flip through his book. "You should have started earlier. You're looking at a C or lower." Gilbert muttered several curses under his breath as he quickly wrote another bullshit line about the Romanticist techniques found in the poem.

"What are you reading Francis?" Asked Antonio curiously. "Looks really old…"

"Just a book I borrowed of Arthur…" Muttered Francis as he gazed over the black ink of the book.

Antonio looked shocked. "Arthur? As in Arthur Kirkland? The Student council president?" Arthur Kirkland for all accounts was probably one of the grumpiest people in the world. He was a total stick up his ass, no fun, grump that absolutely hated Francis. But the two of them were frenemies, knowing each other for most of their life in fact, so they had a very complicated but mutual understanding that confused the hell out of anyone that knew Francis or Arthur.

"I'll never understand you two." Muttered Gilbert. "One second you two are hurling insults at each other and the next you two are acting like friends. Is there some sexual tension there or something?"

"Perhaps…" Mused Francis happily. "I wouldn't mind that, but Arthur is too much of a prude at the best of times… He would be quite handsome if he would just shut his mouth once in a while."

"Well what's the book about?" Asked Antonio, he seemed mildly curious as to what Arthur had that Francis would find interesting. Only one thing could come to his mind. "Is it some kind of erotic novel?"

Gilbert scoffed. "Please, it's probably porn."

Francis rolled his eyes. "It's a book about ESP and PK."

Gilbert looked at Francis with confusion. "That's either some super weird and kinky shit or you're talking about psychic powers and an old brand of chewing gum."

"Psychic powers." Said Francis coolly. Noticing the bemused expressions on his friends faces he decided to explain why he was reading it. "Arthur and I somehow got into an argument about ESP and witches. I know, weird. So he ended up getting pissed at me and told me to get educated and slammed this book into my chest. I thought, why not? That's why I'm reading it."

"Sounds pretty boring." Said Antonio.

"It's actually quite interesting." Said Francis as he turned the page. "I'm actually surprised that I'm interested in this stuff… There's a whole chapter in here about Uri Geller and Gellerini. Geller's the guy who started the whole spoon bending thing."

"Isn't that just fake?" Asked Antonio. "You can easily bend a spoon just by touching it if you know just where to apply pressure."

Francis nodded. "Oui, but that's part of the Gellerini phenomenon. Kids would watch Geller perform on TV and then they would imitate him. But the powers wouldn't last long and they would resort to tricks. These tricks were reviled to the public and no one believed that and Geller's reputation was questioned."

Gilbert shrugged as he rocked back in his chair a little. "Well that's all well and good but he just bent spoons. That's some pretty lame ESP shit."

"What does ESP stand for?" Asked Antonio.

"Extrasensory perception." Said Francis. "And Geller had ESP and PK… I think he just had PK-ST."

"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but…" Muttered Antonio. "PK? PK-ST?"

"Don't ask that!" Whined Gilbert. "We'll be here all day!"

Francis scoffed at the pair. "I'll just do the short version. There are two kinds of ESP; clairvoyant and telepathy. An example clairvoyant would be something like… One of you looking directly at a brick wall and putting a flower on the other side and you being able to tell me what's on the other side."

"And we already know what telepathy is." Said Antonio happily.

"Yeah, yeah…" Muttered Gilbert. "So what's PK?"

Francis smiled happily. "PK stands for Psychokinesis. It's the ability to move objects with your mind… So there are three types of PK; PK-ST, PK-MT and PK-LT. Firstly, PK-ST is the ability to influence a stationary object. Spoon bending is an example of that. PK-MT is believed to be the most common PK type there is. It is the ability to influence a moving object. For example when a die is rolled and want a two to come up you will get a two. Most people have PK-MT."

"So I might have it?" Asked Antonio.

Francis shrugged. "Probably. Then there's PK-LT. That's the ability to influence living things. A good example of this is a woman called Nina Kulagina. Just by a simple touch she could cure illness… and I think I read somewhere that she once stoped a frogs heart."

"… Why would you do that to the poor frog?" Asked Antonio in mild dismay.

Francis shrugged and continued to read his book. "I don't know… But you can usually clearly label someone as either ESP or PK. There are a few cases where people have both… Oh, speaking of famous PK and ESP users there's was this woman, Jacqueline Marius. I think she's dead now, but she was apparently very famous in the psychic ring. Arthur showed me a few videos on his laptop of her using her PK-ST skills. In one of the experiments she smashed a twenty kilo ball of aluminium into a brick wall with just her PK."

Gilbert and Antonio were dumbfounded. '_Damn…_' Thought Gilbert. '_That's… That's pretty cool. Having PK-ST would be awesome!_'

Francis glanced up and chuckled at his friends shocked faces. "If you think that's amazing she cured someone who had a terminal illness with just a touch. I don't know what it was, but she cured the guy of it."

"That's pretty cool." Mused Antonio. "It would be pretty cool to have PK-LT… I could grow some large tomatoes…"

"And his mind goes straight to food." Said Gilbert. He sighed and quickly checked his phone. No texts from Matthew. He knew he shouldn't be worrying so much about it so much. There was the chance that Matthew had actually gotten to sleep two days in a row, though the odds of that happening were very slim.

"Still worried sick about Matthew?" Asked Francis with a small smile.

Gilbert reluctantly nodded. "Ja, Matthew was having one of his better days yesterday so he was better than normal… But it was foggy this morning and ever since what happened he hasn't coped very well…"

"If you really need to see him, just cut class." Said Antonio. "It's just double maths and we all know it'll be no big loss if you don't turn up again."

Gilbert rolled his eyes and continued to scribble down more of his English essay. With one or two final words he was done. He grinned and slammed his pen down. "Perfect! Now I never have to think of this piece of shit assignment ever again!"

"You have to type it out too." Said Francis. Gilbert felt like his brain was going to explode right then and there. This was why he hated assignments.

"What font do we need to write it in?" Asked Gilbert curiously.

Antonio shrugged. "Any."

"Then that bitch is getting my assignment in Wingdings!" Snapped Gilbert. He was not going to be nice to the crazy old hag that wanted both hand written and typed up copy.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

During Lunch Gilbert left the school and went to Matthew's house. He needed to make sure the small blond was okay. He knocked on the door and sent about six texts saying he was at the door. When he got no response there was only one thing he could do. Break in.

He walked over to the back of the house and over to the basement doors. It was a combination lock, which was easy enough to crack. Matthew had told him the combination ages ago, just in case something happened. So he cracked the combination and went inside.

Everything seemed relatively normal, but Gilbert knew better. He walked to Matthew's room and knocked on the door. "Birdie? Can I come in?"

"NO!" Shrieked Matthew. "GET OUT! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE! GET OUT! GET OUT!" Matthew was having one of his episodes again. This was bad. Really bad. He was capable of anything in this state.

"Please open the door!" Called Gilbert. "It's me, Gilbert! Your best friend!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" Screamed Matthew. "GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"

Gilbert sighed. He didn't like doing this, but he didn't seem to have much of a choice. There were two ways to open Matthew's door when it was locked. One would either have to unlock it from the inside or unlock it by jiggling the doorknob in a certain way. It was like a fancy lock; left, right, right, left, down, up, down.

He pulled open the door and cringed at the sight that met his eyes. The room was completely trashed; clothes all over the floor, books everywhere, draws thrown against the walls and even the mattress was pushed up against the window. Sitting on of the corners of the room was Matthew. He had wrapped himself up in a quilt. Although Gilbert could only see his eyes, he could tell that Matthew was terrified beyond belief.

Gilbert just wanted to run over to the small blond and hold him close, it hurt to see him like that. But he knew he had to be careful. He smiled kindly at Matthew and slowly approached him. "Hey Birdie…" He cooed. "It's me, Gilbert… Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it? What happened?"

Matthew looked up at Gilbert, like he was looking at the devil himself. He even backed away further into the corner and tried to shrink down a little too. "Go away…" He whimpered. "Please… Go away…"

Gilbert sighed and crouched down in front of the freaked out blond, still smiling. "It's okay… I'd never hurt you… Try to remember. It's me Gilbert. I'll never let anything bad happen to you ever again… Don't you remember I promised you that?"

Matthew just looked at Gilbert for a few seconds before tackling him in a hug. "IT CAME BACK!" He cried out in fear. "I SAW IT! IT WANTS TO KILL ME!"

Gilbert sighed and held Matthew close, gently stroking his hair. "It's okay Birdie. No one is going to hurt you, not while I'm around." He was used to Matthew going hysterical over the same thing every time he had an episode. The best he could do was try to calm Matthew down and fix everything up so Samuel wouldn't find out.

After a minute or two, Matthew had calmed down enough for Gilbert to let him go and to start cleaning up the place. He first put the draws away. While he was doing that he was surprised to find Kuma hidden under one of them. Gilbert smiled a little and gave the bear to Matthew, who hastily took it, hiding his face in the toys fur.

Once Gilbert had the room back in order He picked up Matthew, who was still hiding under the quilt, and put him on the bed. It was now time for the hardest part; seeing what damage Matthew did to himself.

Very slowly, Gilbert pulled back the quilt. Every now and then, Matthew would flinch and Gilbert would have to stop to calm him down. There were a few bruises and cuts on his arms and even one really nasty looking bruise on his neck. He was sure that there were more injuries under this shirt, but there was no way he was going to get Matthew to willingly take off his shirt while he was still so freaked out.

"Oh, Birdie…" Sighed Gilbert sadly. "What did you do to yourself?"

Matthew sniffled a little and held Kuma close to his chest. "It wasn't me… I didn't do it… I-I fainted and then this happened when I woke up… It wasn't me… I wasn't conscious when this happened… Please, you have to believe me."

Gilbert frowned a little, not entirely happy with Matthew's answer. "If you fainted where was your uncle? Why didn't he do anything about it?"

"Locked door." Muttered Matthew. He wiped some tears away from his eyes. "I fainted really early in the morning and his room is on the other side of the house so he probably didn't hear me… Not that it would have mattered much anyway… He's a very deep sleeper."

It hurt to hear Matthew say this. Gilbert sighed and wrapped his arms around Matthew's smaller body and held him close. "So you've been here all alone again? You shouldn't be alone like this…"

"I have to." Whimpered Matthew sadly. "If I can't prove to Samuel and that doctor that I'm getting better they'll send me back to the asylum… I don't want to go back there…" Tears started to stream out of his eyes. "They are going to send me back aren't they? There's nothing I can do about it. If they don't want me here they'll just get rid of me. Simple as that."

Gilbert pulled Matthew onto his lap and hugged him tightly. "It's okay, Matthew. I'll never let anyone take you away. I'll always be here if you need me, you just need to call me and I'll be right over."

"Thank you." Whispered Matthew softly. "But I really didn't do anything to my room… It was just like that when I woke up… Really…"

Gilbert nodded and rubbed Matthew's back soothingly. "It's okay Birdie… You just need to calm down a little. Deep breaths. Nothing bad's going to happen to you while I'm here." In all honest he didn't believe Matthew when he said that he didn't do anything. He had to have done something. Rooms don't just look like a bomb hit them for no reason. It was probably one of the many things that Matthew was going to keep to himself.

After a while Matthew pulled on the buttons of Gilbert's shirt a little. "You don't believe me do you?"

"Does it really matter what I believe?" Asked Gilbert calmly. "If you say you didn't do it and you mean it, than you didn't do it. Simple as that."

Matthew sighed a little. "I would like it better if you actually believed me…"

"I'm sorry." Muttered Gilbert. "I'm just not sure what to believe anymore. You say one thing, but it doesn't seem logical at all. Everything else seems to support another theory."

"I know…" Said Matthew sadly. "I'm sorry I'm so messed up… But I really didn't do this. I swear. Please believe me… Please… Please?" Neither really said much after that. They just quietly sat together until Samuel came by and kicked Gilbert out again.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Well that was that… Please review!


	6. Nightmares

**Shinigami-cat: **So yeah… I OWN OTHING!

**Nightmares**

Matthew hated himself at the moment. He had an appointment with doctor Braginski in Rivertown several days after his panic attack. When he was asked about it he lied and said he had gotten tired of doing nothing all day and went into the attic to find something to do. It was there that a few boxes fell on him. He could tell that the doctor didn't believe a word he said.

The doctor asked Matthew a series of questions, but pretty much took note of what Samuel said, not Matthew. Eventually Matthew just looked down at Kuma and let his uncle answer instead. It was just easier like that. It was only a matter of time before he was forgotten by them anyway.

'_Why do they even bother to bring me along to this?_' He thought miserably. '_They don't listen to me at all… It's just them talking about this and that… It's not fair…_'

"Your uncle and I are going to step outside for a few seconds to talk." Said the doctor with fake enthusiasm. "Please wait here and don't touch anything." Matthew nodded and watched the doctor and his uncle leave the room.

When he was alone he took some time to look over at the doctor's desk. There were two separate photos. One of an old couple, possibly the doctor's mum and dad, and the other was one of the doctor's family. There were five people in the photo; the doctor, his wife and his three kids, two girls and one boy. He recognized the kids. He used to go to school with them.

The youngest was a girl with long platinum blond hair and purple eyes. If he remembered correctly her name was Natalia. She was pretty quiet, but very aggressive, a little too attached to her brother, Ivan. Ivan was the middle child of the family. He had short platinum blond hair and purple eyes. For the most part he was nice, but every now and then he could be horrible. One of the school bullies if he remembered correctly. Then there was Katyusha. The eldest and kindest of the children. She had short platinum blond hair, bright blue eyes and she had rather large boobs.

Matthew smiled a little. "I want to go back to school soon."

"They are talking about you behind your back." Whined Kuma. He wriggled off Matthew's lap and quickly ran under the doctor's desk. "I don't like them and I don't like what they are doing to you. They are making you sad."

"It can't be helped." Said Matthew sadly. "I guess I'm just not meant to be happy…"

Kuma sat down and shook his head. "No. You deserve to be happy. Too many bad things have happened to you already." He crawled back over to Matthew and started to tug on his shoelaces. "Feed me."

Matthew sighed and looked down at the toy. "No food here. You'll have to wait until we get home… Hopefully my uncle will need to go to a pharmacy or something to get me more medicine or something. Then we can get something."

Kuma pouted a little and started to chew on Matthew's shoe. "Feed me fish. Do it…"

"I'm not going to feed you footwear." Muttered Matthew softly. "Quit it." The door opened up and walked back in, Samuel stayed outside. He smiled a little too kindly and picked Kuma up off the floor, putting him on the desk. "Kuma…"

"You can have him back after answering one or two more questions." Said the doctor.

Matthew looked up at the doctor nervously and nodded a little. "O-okay… Why is my uncle outside?"

"He needed to schedule another appointment." Said the doctor. He sat down in his chair, still smiling. "You mentioned that your dream was a little different last time… Would you mind elaborating a little bit more? We do have time."

Matthew fidgeted nervously in his chair. He really didn't like this. He wanted Kuma back. "It's like I said… I wasn't in the woods anymore. Well I was, but I was running from people… They had touches and pitchforks… I just felt that if I stopped running something horrible would happen to me… That's all."

"That's what you said before." Said the doctor, a little more coldly than he probably meant to. It scared Matthew a little. "Could you describe how you felt? Did you realize it was a dream?"

"Yeah…" Whimpered Matthew a little. "A-At the time it feels real to me… I feel terrified and I…"

"And you're?"

"I can't help but wonder how long it will be until I get murdered." Said Matthew quietly. He gulped a little and continued. "If… if I focus a little I can hear the sound of knives being scraped across a steel… I-I can feel my heart racing and I don't know why they are after me, but I keep seeing that thing floating through the fog and it scares me so much!" He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself, but it wasn't really helping.

The doctor just smiled and typed some things up on his computer. "I see… Could you describe what 'it' is?"

Matthew shook his head. "No… I don't want to remember it… Please don't make me remember it… Please…" He was starting to tear up a little.

"I can't help you unless you tell me exactly what 'it' is." Said the doctor plainly. "What does it look like? How many arms?"

"Please stop…" Whispered Matthew. Images were flashing in front of his eyes at a rapid pace.

"How many eyes? Did it look human? Did it have fur? Did it have feathers? Did it have scales?"

"Please stop." Said Matthew a little louder. The bloodied images of that night were burning behind his eyes. He felt like he was slipping away from reality, like he was being pulled far, far away to a place he didn't want to go. It was making him feel sick. "Just stop it…"

"What did this thing do to you? Did it just cut you? Did it throw you? Did it sexually assault you?"

"NO!" Shouted Matthew. By this time he was clutching his aching head, like it would fall apart in a second if he let it go. "JUST SHUT UP! JUT PLEASE SHUT UP! GIVE ME BACK KUMA!" He jumped forwards and grabbed the bear off the doctor's desk, falling to his knees when he safely had the bear in his arms. "Kuma…" He whimpered. "Kuma… Kuma… Kuma…"

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

"And that's pretty much how my day went…" Mumbled Matthew sadly. "That doctor asks the weirdest questions… Oh and after that I was take to the infirmary and they gave me some drug to calm me down."

"That sucks." Said Gilbert. "That doctor's just working you up again for no reason." The two of them were sitting on Gilbert's front lawn. After the fiasco at the doctors, Gilbert thought it would be nice to take Matthew out for a bit.

Matthew sighed and snapped some twigs in his hands. "I know… My uncle dropped me off and then went out to get some sleeping pills for me… I hate it."

"I know you do." Said Gilbert. "That doctor should know better than that." It didn't really matter that much to Matthew. He was pretty sure the doctor wanted him in some kind of institution away from everyone. It made sense, Matthew was a nuisance to everyone, though he wasn't a danger to the public, he was a danger to himself. He sighed a little and lied down on his back, holding Kuma close to his chest.

"I don't think it matters that much to them… All they need is an excuse and then I'm off." Muttered Matthew sadly. "I think the only reason they let me leave and not just send me straight there was because they knew why I had a fit… At this rate they will definitely send me away…"

"I wouldn't let that happen." Said Gilbert reassuringly. "If they wanted to take you away they would have to kill me first."

Matthew smiled a little at that. Gilbert would say the nicest things to him sometimes, but they were just words. He couldn't actually live up to them when push came to shove. As time went by, Gilbert would leave and get on with his life. Everyone would eventually. Everyone always did. '_It's a nice thought… But I know it won't last forever… nothing ever does._'

"Hey Gilbert!" Called Francis, making bother Matthew and Gilbert look up in mild surprise. Francis and Antonio were leaning against Gilbert's gate, grinning like idiots. Before everything happened, Francis and Antonio were Matthew's friends and he still considered them friends. They just didn't really know how to act around Matthew anymore. It didn't bother him though, most people tended to avoid him anyway.

Gilbert grinned at the pair. "Hey guys! What's up?"

"We just wanted to come by and see how you were going." Said Antonio with a grin. "It's nice to see you up and about, Matthew." Matthew smiled a little and waved at them. He was fine with speaking with Gilbert, but still found it a little difficult around other people.

Francis grinned and sat down on the grass with them. "So how are things with you, Matthew? Good I hope?"

"I-it going o-okay." Stuttered Matthew quietly. He tightened his grip on Kuma a little. "H-how are you t-two?"

"I'm pretty good." Said Francis happily.

"I'm a little worse for wear, but I'll live." Said Antonio with a small smile. "Lovino's got one hell of an arm on him on him… I think he's been taking lessons from Kiku or something…"

Gilbert chuckled. "Sounds about right." The three of them continued to talk about stuff and Matthew tuned it out. They weren't his close friends, so he didn't really need to talk to them that much. He would just smile and nod if they asked him something, which thankfully wasn't that often.

After about half an hour Kuma piped up. "We should go home before Samuel come out to look for us. There could be trouble."

Matthew nodded in agreement. "Yeah… H-hey, Gil? Can you please take me home?"

Gilbert looked over at Matthew and nodded. "Yeah sure, see you guys in a bit." Antonio and Francis waved goodbye as Matthew and Gilbert got onto the albino's bike and started to make their way back.

As they made their way past the forest, Matthew couldn't help but gaze out at it. As he watched it he could swear he could hear something a little weird. It sounded like a rope being pulled taught, but that was silly. He was probably just hearing things again. It wouldn't have been the first time he had heard it. He sighed a little and let his mind go blank.

"One, two, three, four… Underneath the forest floor… Five, six, seven, eight… The lovers will suffocate…" Whispered Matthew quietly. He blinked a little in mild confusion. He had no idea where that came from.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Matthew couldn't stop running, he could hear something chasing him, getting closer and closer. He knew it was definitely not 'It', but something else. He couldn't stop his tears from falling, he had never been so scared. For some reason 'It' almost dwindled in comparison to the fear he felt now.

He ran faster and faster until he tripped over, smashing his oil lamp against the ground. "Damn it." He hissed. He would have to travel by moonlight if he wanted to try to stay alive. Matthew quickly scrambled to his feet and started running again.

After aimlessly running through the forest for what seemed like hours he finally stopped. He just felt as though whatever was after him had stopped, at least for the moment. He quickly looked up to see his environment had changed. He was standing outside the gates of a cemetery and just beyond it was an old church.

Nervously, Matthew walked towards the church. "Maybe I can find someone… Anyone…"

He pushed open the doors on the old building. It had a very Gothic feel to it with its cold and stony interior. The doors snapped shut behind him. Cautiously he walked through the building, only after taking a few steps he started to hear the sound of a rope being pulled taught.

The noise grew louder as he kept walking deeper into the church. With a gulp Matthew dared to speak out. "Hello? I-is someone h-here? Hello?" Suddenly three roped fell from the roof. Two were soaked in blood and one was relatively clean. The blood soaked ones seemed to be pulled down by some kind of invisible force, causing them to make that horrible noise.

Matthew cups his hands over his ears, it was almost as if just the sound was causing him pain. '_What the hell is this?_' He thought in a panic. '_Why is this here in a church of all places? What's going on here? Why is this happening to me?_'

Without warning the doors burst open, filling the room with a thick blanket of fog and the tall dark figure stood there. Unmoving and uncaring. Matthew screamed and ran. There wasn't really any place he could run. The creature was standing at the only exit. Unsure of what to do, Matthew jumped out the window. But he didn't land on the ground like he thought he would, no, instead he landed in the branches of trees.

He took a moment to catch his breath before quickly climbing down. He still had to run away. The ground was thick like mud, but smelt metallic. Matthew tried to start running again, but he continued to trip and fall face first into the muck. His skin was stained red. He was running through blood soaked earth.

"Oh maple…" He whimpered. "This… this can't be real… Please someone… Someone save me…" The sound of footsteps starting to get closer made Matthew jump. It sounded like it was one person, but all too quickly there were more and more footsteps. A mob. He turned his head and say the lights from their torches mixed in with the trees, mingling with their angry shouts.

Matthew's eyes went wide with fear and his throat went dry. '_I can't let them catch me… I-I don't want to die._' He quickly scrambled to his feet and started running again, slipping several times in the bloody mud.

No matter where he went or how fast he ran the mob would always get closer. He could never hear what they were saying, but he knew they were angry and confused, like him. He wasn't sure if he preferred the mob of shadowy figures trailing him or the creature that lived inside the fog.

'_I hate them both!_' Thought Matthew as he continued to run. Even though his tears were starting to blur his vision to the point where it probably would have been easier to see in a fog. '_Why can't they just leave me alone? What did I ever do? Why is this happening? I don't understand._'

Eventually his legs gave out, too exhausted to run anymore. He panted heavily as he leaned against a tree branch. A fog was starting to slowly wind its way around his legs. 'It' was coming to get him now too.

Matthew couldn't help but cry out. "Please! Please someone take this away from me!" He cried pathetically. "Please! Someone! Anyone! Help me!" Suddenly the tree he was leaning against for support evaporated, leaving a gaping hole in the ground that, regrettably he fell into.

As soon as his skin touched the soft ground scared and damaged arms reached up and held him down. Matthew screamed and thrashed around trying to free himself, but the thick, mud like blood started to generously fill up the hole Matthew was stuck in. It filled his ears, mouth and nose. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything but suffocate.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Matthew gasped and quickly sat up in his bed. That dream was terrible. He reached over to the sleeping pills that had been prescribed to him and quickly walked over to the window. It was slightly foggy, but if he was quick it wouldn't matter. With a gulp he quickly opened the window and threw those pills as far away as he could. He heard the bottle hit a tree, but it didn't shatter.

He quickly slammed the window shut and locked it, not forgetting to cover the window with his curtains. When that was done he dived under the covers, holding Kuma close. "Never, ever, ever taking those pills again… That was too scary…"

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Yep… Please review!


	7. Newspaper

**Shinigami-cat: **So anyway, I hope everyone is having a good holidays and stuff… I OWN NOTHING!

**Newspaper**

Gilbert yawned a little as his alarm clock went off for the third time. He had considered putting a thumbtack on the snooze button to stop him from hitting it so often, but decided against it. He slowly sat up and stretched, letting his back pop like bubble wrap. He then slowly dragged himself over to his wardrobe and pulled on his uniform before walking downstairs to make breakfast.

It was meant to be his turn to make breakfast this week and Ludwig's turn next week. They alternated because it was only fair. He started to make omelettes, but ended up making scrambled eggs instead. It didn't matter that much though. It was just eggs. He was halfway through cooking when his brother came down.

"Aren't you having a shower this morning?" He asked.

"Nein." Muttered Gilbert. "I'll have one later tonight… Mind making lunch or something? I don't care what I have."

Ludwig nodded and went to make their lunches. "Sure… You okay? You seem a little tired."

"Just had a weird dream." Mumbled Gilbert as he started to plate up breakfast. "Nothing too weird, just odd… I was standing in some room and there was a noose hanging from the roof. It didn't look like there was anything there but when I looked at the shadow there was the silhouette of someone getting hanged."

Ludwig frowned a little. "And?"

"That's it." Said Gilbert. He put the food on the table and grabbed some cutlery. "I told you it was a weird dream… Whatever." He sat down and started to eat. "When do you think the parents will be back?"

"I think they are stopping by next month for a day or something." Muttered Ludwig. A hint of malice laced his words. "I wish they would stay for at least a couple of days."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Please, they wouldn't even come back here if they didn't have kids… Okay, maybe once in a while because grandpa's here, but still…" The two sat in silence as they finished eating before making their way to school.

They would walk down the road together before they would walk down different roads. This was so that they could meet up with their friends. When they were on their own, Gilbert would start listening to his iPod while testing Matthew. Today he was surprised to get a reply straight away.

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Morning. How has your day been so far?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Average. What about you? Is something up?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__My uncle yelled at me for throwing out my sleeping pills._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__WTF? Not cool! You were on sleeping pills?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Not anymore. I threw the bottle out the window last night. The cap came off and bugs got into the bottle. He was really angry. But the pills gave me a horrific nightmare. I felt like vomiting._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Are you okay? Do you want me to come over now? I can afford to skip History. The teacher's a prick anyway._

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__I'm alright now._

_**SENT:**__ Gilbert  
__Okay. Just remember you just need to call me and I'll be over before you know it. :D_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__I know. :)_

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

History was boring. It would have been better it pull his nails out. At least then he would have been mildly interested in what was happening. The only thing that made it bearable was that Francis and Antonio were in the same class, even if the teacher had split them up to the corners of the room; Antonio was in the front left near the teacher's desk, Francis was in the front left near the door and Gilbert was in the back left next to the window.

The teacher was giving some big speech about how ever place has a history no matter how old or new it was. To emphasize this point he was handing out an assignment to everyone. Everyone was to choose a place out of the hat and do at least thirty years of research on it minimum. They were then supposed to hand an essay in by the end of the term with at least a one and a half page bibliography. Another bullshit assignment in Gilbert opinion.

When it came to his turn to choose he inwardly sighed. '_Cutter Valley? I have to do an assignment about this town? Oh come on… nothing interesting has ever happened here…_' The only good thing that came out of that History lesson was that they got to spend half of it in the library starting their research. Gilbert was a little eager to see what his friends got.

"Some Australian town…" Muttered Antonio. "I can't pronounce the name…"

Francis looked at the piece of paper and shrugged. "Well, good luck. I have some obscure Romanian village. This project is stupid."

"You're telling me." Muttered Gilbert. "I have to look up stuff about this town… Nothing interesting happens here. I can sum up the town's history in a few sentences; founded by pilgrims, inspired by the old Gothic style and mid Victorian styles. The end."

Francis shrugged. "Well it might be interesting to find out about the town… I would prefer that to my Romanian village… Maybe you could just focus on one part of the town? Like some of the old buildings or something?"

Gilbert shrugged and got onto one of the school computers, looking at the news website the teacher had recommended. "Yeah I guess… Let's look back… fifty years and see what was happening in the town."

"Good luck with that." Said Antonio as he and Francis walked off to other places in the library to work.

Gilbert sighed a little and started to scroll through the papers until there was one that caught his eye. It was an article about a missing girl. Seeing as how this was a town paper this took up a large section of the front page of the paper. She was a young girl around the ages sixteen and eighteen who just disappeared one night. The police were still looking for her.

Curious about what happened to her, Gilbert looked ahead and found the sad truth. The girl was found but she was stabbed to death and found half buried under a tree. The murderer wasn't found. It was odd to say the least, but that was as far as he got before the bell went and he had to go to his next class.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Did you remember to eat today?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__I had an apple._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Only an apple?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__It was a big apple._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__:/_

_**From: **__Birdie  
_…

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__:/_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__I'll eat something else soon._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
-_-_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Fine I'll find something and eat it now… Is a sandwich good with you?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Only if it is full of vegetables and some kind of fish. You need all the fibre, vitamins and proteins you can get._

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
_…

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Birdie… Come on. Do it for me, please? You don't need to become anorexic too._

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Okay I will. Are you happy now?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__:D_

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

"You seem a little depressed today." Noted Gilbert as he sat next to Matthew. They were watching some old 90's movie on the TV. Matthew was half slumped over the coffee table with Kuma next to his leg.

Matthew sighed sadly. "I'm still upset that my uncle got upset at me over those pills… I guess they might have been expensive..." He crossed his arms on the table and buried his face in them. "I'm so useless… I never think things through properly… The consequences are always horrible. I don't think he is going to talk to me for a long time."

Gilbert frowned and moved down off the couch onto the floor, hugging Matthew tightly. This made the shall blond squeak a little. "It's not your fault, Birdie. It never is. You shouldn't be sad."

Matthew blushed a little but let himself sink into the hug regardless. "Thank you."

"No problem, Birdie." Said Gilbert happily. "I hate seeing you look so sad." He let Matthew go and got up, walking towards the kitchen. "You have anything to eat?"

"The other half of the sandwich you made me make." Said Matthew with a yawn. "I didn't feel that hungry but I got half of it down."

Gilbert sighed a little and retrieved the food from the fridge. He was happy to see that it had a fair amount of lettuce, tomato and cucumber on it with some tuna. "Good choice of greens." He took the sandwich and walked back over to Matthew.

Matthew was smiling happily and holding Kuma when he came back. "Thank you Gilbert… I-I do try my best to make you happy."

That comment made Gilbert's heart flutter a little in his chest, but he quickly squashed those feelings. Matthew was like that with everyone. It didn't matter what he was doing, he would always try his best to make others feel better even when he wasn't.

"You don't have to make me happy, Birdie." Said Gilbert. "I just… I want you to be happy."

Matthew smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I am happy."

Gilbert frowned a little but decided not to press it any further. He sat down next to Matthew and ate his sandwich. They stayed quiet for a long time before the door opened up and Samuel walked in. Gilbert quickly glanced over at Matthew, noticing the emptiness that quickly consumed his eyes. He didn't like that.

"I'm back, Matthew." He called in his gruff voice. "How was your day? Are you in your room again?"

"I-I'm in the lounge room..." Called Matthew weakly. "A-and Gilbert's over.. Please don't be mad at me." The blond practically whispered the last part, but Gilbert heard it. To him it didn't sound like a whisper, it screamed in his ears and he hated it.

They could both hear Samuel sigh from the hallway before they saw him. He didn't look impressed in the slightest. Gilbert let a frustrated breath out through his nose as he stood up. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Matthew drawing his legs up close to his chest, like he was bracing himself for something bad.

But Samuel and Gilbert had done this dance far too many times for there to be much of an unhappy and messy outcome. Samuel would always make the first move.

"Gilbert. How are you?" Samuel asked, with a hint of anger. Next it was Gilbert's turn.

He put on a fake smile and took a few steps away from Matthew to get to the hallway, but he moved slowly as to not seem impolite. "I'm good sir, how are you sir?"

Samuel raised his eyebrow a little as he followed Gilbert with his eyes. "That's good… It's getting late isn't it? Shouldn't you be getting back home to your brother?"

"I think he's staying at a friends for dinner." Said Gilbert with a small, but noticeable twitch of his eyebrow. "I'm eating alone tonight."

"Well I wouldn't want to keep you waiting. You have such an evening planed ahead of you, I'd be damned if I was the one to keep you from it." If Gilbert wasn't mistaken, Samuel's words were laced with malice and a taunt.

Gilbert wasn't going to let that get to him. "Why thank you sir. How kind of you sir. Have a good night sir." He turned to Matthew and smiled at him with his real smile. "Later, Birdie. I'll see you later and remember, keep smiling!"

Matthew smiled a little and waved at his friend. "Bye Gil…" With that, Gilbert turned and left the house.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When Gilbert got home he decided to actually get a head start on his assignments for once. He went back to the website with the newspapers and started to look through them again. He was still quite interested in the murder of that girl and wanted to look further into it, but decided it would be good to see what else he could find for that year. What he found made his jaw drop. A morgue caught on fire. The address was the same as Matthew's current one.

After reading a little more into it the police at the time believed that it was a gas leak of some kind. It was weird and seemed a little suspicious. He wanted to find out more. He could try to base his assignment around the morgue, but the murders in the town interested him. He was going to need some help and he knew just who to ask.

He got onto Skype and quickly found who he was looking for. His cousin from Romania, Vladimir. He was a very distant cousin from his mother's side of the family, but they shared the same red eyes and white skin. Vlad just had dark brown hair and abnormally sharp canines, making him look a little like a vampire. "Hey there Gil, what's up? What are you doing on Skype?" Asked Vladimir with a smirk, showing off his fangs.

Gilbert grinned at him. "Hey Vlad. I need a bit of help with my assignment."

Vlad rolled his eyes. "So you want me to do it for you? Sorry, but you're out of luck there."

"Look, I just need a little help." Whined Gilbert. "I thought you would be interested in it… So for my assignment I have to look up my town's history. I thought you might be interested to know I'm looking up the criminal history."

Vlad's grin grew wide. There were two things he really liked; crime and myth. "You have me intrigued. Continue."

Gilbert chuckled and emailed Vlad a link. "Si I looked this thing up. It's a murder that happened here fifty years ago. I want to know everything about it. It's only one part of my project, I'm also having a look at a mysterious fire at the morgue."

Vlad smirked devilishly. "Okay, I'll have a look at this murder. Sounds interesting! I'll do what I can for you." There was some shouting in the background. "Later Gilbert, lunch is ready." Gilbert grinned and waved goodbye to his cousin before he turned off his computer. Today had been a pretty good day.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… It all seems interesting… Please review!


	8. Light Box

**Shinigami-cat: **Well here's the next chapter and I really want to say a big thank you to SilverMoonForever for helping me with this chapter. You're amazing honey! Thanks so much… I OWN NOTHING!

**Light Box**

Matthew sat quietly at the dinner table. He hadn't touched the food in front of him once. He was anxious about how Samuel was acting. He was quiet, too quiet. He was probably still angry that he had thrown out his pills and the fact that Gilbert was over again. It was scary.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Asked Samuel. Matthew could tell he was straining to keep his voice sounding cheerful and good natured.

"N-not really." Said Matthew quietly. "Y-you shouldn't be upset with G-Gilbert… I'm the one who-who asks him to come over… I get lonely." Kuma was good company, but Matthew did crave the attention of a living being. He just wanted to be acknowledged, even if it was just for a little bit. It might have been selfish, but he wanted that kind of contact with Gilbert.

"You should have said something." Said Samuel. "I would have asked for more time off work."

"It's not the same…" Whispered Matthew quietly. He wasn't sure if his uncle had heard him or not.

"Sorry what was that? I didn't quite catch it."

"N-nothing!" Squeaked Matthew quickly. "Just talking to myself again."

Samuel groaned and rubbed his temples in mild frustration. "Are you hearing voices or something? Are they telling you bad things?"

Matthew shook his head quickly. "N-no! I'm not hearing voices, I promise!"

"Don't lie!" Snapped Samuel, causing Matthew to shrink in his seat. "If you have a damn problem just tell me already! I'm trying my best here Matthew! I'm sending you to one of the best doctors, I'm getting you the best medication and I took you out of that asylum when you were desperate to get out!" His voice was gradually escalating. "I thought I was doing the right thing, but you won't even talk to me about anything! What the hell is wrong with you? Sometimes I think I should just send you back there because I sure as hell know I took you out too damn early!"

Matthew gulped and didn't dare to look up, afraid that he would catch his uncles angry glair. "I'm sorry…" He whispered quietly, like a small child. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

After that there was nothing but silence between the two. The only things that filled the air was the clack of silver wear against plate and the slight shifting of Matthew's chair. He was terrified that if he moved his uncle would yell at him. After about ten minutes Samuel growled and stood up. "Fine, if you aren't going to eat then you can go to bed. I'll put your food in the fridge. You will eat it later."

Matthew nodded and got up, picking Kuma up off the floor as he walked away. Even though he hadn't eaten anything he couldn't help but feel that there was a weight deep in the pit of his stomach. It made him feel like he was going to be sick.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

"So he's still mad at me…" Muttered Matthew miserably. "It sucks…" He was sitting on a box in the attic with Gilbert. They thought it would be interesting to go through all the old things in there together. He sighed and squeezed Kuma a little. "I hate it…"

"I'm not a squeaky toy!" Yelped Kuma. "No squeezing!" He didn't like getting squeezed for no reason. Matthew smiled a little and patted Kuma's head. That bear was just too cute sometimes.

"Your uncle is an ass hat." Muttered Gilbert. He opened a box and half lifted out an old dress. "More clothes… Seriously is everything in here clothes… Isn't there something better? Hell I'd settle for a box of early, unused 90's condoms. At least that would be mildly interesting."

Matthew chuckled a little and put Kuma on the box he was sitting on. "There might be some old toys somewhere…" He opened up a suitcase and looked inside it; there was a small doll made from straw, some pieces of folded fabric and some kind of jewellery box. He opened the jewellery box and took out some of the things in it. There were a few scorpion earrings, some interesting looking pendants and bottles filled with things.

"What did you find?" Asked Gilbert. He moved next to Matthew and picked up a pendant. "Interesting… This is pretty cool… Is this a real scorpion?"

Matthew looked up at the pendant and smiled a little. He recognised that pendant. It was a thick glass disc and inside it was a small scorpion in the middle of it. "Yeah, that was my grandma's. I guess this is some of her stuff… I remember she liked some weird stuff. She was a little eccentric, but I liked her… I miss her…"

Gilbert smiled a little and put the pendant down. "She gave you Kuma, didn't she?"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah… She died when I was about five. She was always kind to me and I remember her house always smelled like lavender and other spices. She was a nice woman." He sighed a little. "I miss her…"

Gilbert smiled a little and patted Matthew's back. For some reason this made Matthew blush a little and his heart speed up in his chest. It was weird, Gilbert had done similar things many times, but now it made him blush. It was weird. It confused him greatly.

"Want to keep looking through stuff?" Asked Gilbert happily.

Matthew nodded and picked up the scorpion necklace again, turning it in his hand. "If you want to you can. I'm going to keep looking through her jewellery... When I hold her things I can remember things about her… I know it sounds weird, but it's true."

"I get where you're coming from." Said Gilbert understandingly. "When I hold something from ages ago, I sometimes remember things too." He stood up and walked away to look through other boxes.

While he was doing that, Matthew looked through the little bottles, smiling a little. Most of them were filled with spider webs 'Keeps away those nasty ones Mattie.' She would say. 'Burns their skin too.' She was a crazy old lady, but she was wonderful.

"Hey Birdie, what's this thing?" Asked Gilbert. Matthew looked up and frowned a little. Gilbert was holding a large, yellow metal box with five buttons and lights on it with the numbers one to five in roman numerals written on it. Matthew wasn't sure what it was but he knew whose it was.

"Oh, that's just some more of my grandmother's stuff." Said Matthew. "I remember she had a bunch of weird stuff at her house… I guess my uncle got everything she owned all when she died…"

Gilbert nodded and turned the weird object over in his hands, frowning a little when he looked at the back of it. "Hey Birdie, you know French right? Read this for me."

Matthew walked over to Gilbert and quickly read what was on the back. "Let's see… You need to plug this into a power source and hit the button where the light comes up before it does… you need to attach it to a seismometer and it's supposed to test something… Whatever it is it's out of a thousand. The rest of it is ripped off... or worn off or something."

"Sounds weird… A little like something to test your reflexes or something." Said Gilbert. He looked back inside the box where Matthew assumed he found the weird light box and started to look for the seismometer. After a little while he found one and pulled it out. It still had paper in it and the needle still looked sharp. "Want to give it a try or something?"

Matthew shrugged. "It's not like we have anything else to do here… I think there's a power point up here somewhere…" While Matthew was on the lookout for a power point, Gilbert hooked the seismometer to the weird light box. When Matthew found one they hooked it up and decided who would go first.

The did scissors, paper, rock and Gilbert won. So the albino went first. He didn't have too much luck with it. He kept missing the lights and ended up mashing the buttons with his fist. "This bloody thing is rigged!" Snapped Gilbert as he continued to punch the box. "It's getting faster! This is too hard!"

When he was done Matthew chuckled a little. "You only got it right thirteen times."

Gilbert poked out his tongue and pushed the box over towards Matthew. "It's hard. You try to do it."

Matthew nodded and started the machine again. He did way better than Gilbert, hitting the right button more than half the time. He didn't get frustrated like Gilbert did. When it was over, Matthew had scored eight hundred and seventy out of a thousand. "It's not that difficult…"

Gilbert looked at Matthew in shock. There was no way he could have gotten such a high score so easily. "You've done this before haven't you?"

"No." Said Matthew quietly. "I just… I guess it's just beginners luck or something… Nothing special."

"Some luck…" Muttered Gilbert.

Matthew smiled a little and put the light box and seismometer away. "Well… We could do something else if you like… I-I'm not sure what we could do, but something…" He looked down and nervously played with the hem of his shirt. He was worried that one day, Gilbert would get bored with him and just stop coming over or would find excuses to not come over. He wasn't the most interesting person in the world.

"We can do whatever you want." Said Gilbert happily. "I'm not fussed at all… Birdie, you're shaking."

Matthew frowned a little and shook his head. "R-right… Sorry… Maybe you should go home… It would probably be easier… I think I should lie down somewhere…"

"You think you'll be able to make it down the steps by yourself?" Asked Gilbert in concern.

"I'll be fine." Said Matthew reassuringly. He slowly got up, immediately feeling a little light headed and faint. He stumbled a little but quickly caught himself. "M-my legs were a little numb… That's all."

Gilbert didn't look very convinced, but nodded anyway. "Okay…" Matthew felt a little bad for lying, but he wasn't too sure what was wrong with him. Probably a slight cold. Hopefully a slight cold. He walked over to the steps and climbed down them. "Shouldn't we clean up?" Called Gilbert.

Matthew shook his head. "I'll clean it up later, it'll give me something to do."

Gilbert sighed a little and climbed down after Matthew, closing the door behind him. When he got down he looked Matthew over again before pressing the back of his hand against the blonds forehead. "You feel a little warm… I guess staying awake for so long might do that to you. Getting sick and stuff."

Matthew blushed a little. "Yeah… I guess you should leave or something… Don't want you getting sick too…" He turned and quickly started to walk down the steps. For some reason his house had taken on an interesting forest type theme. He didn't particularly like it, but he couldn't help it. As soon as he stepped on the last step he started to hear the sound of a rope being pulled taught.

That sound made him stop dead in his tracks. Trembling slightly he slowly turned his head, feeling a dark presence behind him. Looming over him was the figure from his nightmares. The tall, dark figure with the white face. It slowly turned to face Matthew, eyes snapping open to revel the dark, black sockets where its eyes should have been. Black gunk started to ooze out of those sockets and if that wasn't bad enough, it smiled at him, cracking the skin around its face, causing more of the gunk to flow out.

"No…" Whispered Matthew. "Not again… Get out of my house…"

The creature stretched outs its arm towards him. extending its long, sharp, knife like fingers. It started to glide down the steps towards him, occasionally tapping its fingers together to make a metallic click that sent shivers down Matthew's spine. He had no idea if this creature had legs or not.

Matthew was to petrified to move. He knew he had to move. He had to get away. Yet he couldn't, he was too afraid. Too scared. "Get out. Get out of my house…" The creature's smile just grew wider and wider as it got closer. Matthew snapped. "GET OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" The creature grabbed him, sinking its fingers deep into his flesh. Matthew screamed and thrashed around, trying desperately to get out of its grip. "HELP!" Shrieked Matthew. "SAVE ME! SOMEONE! SOMEOME! GILBERT! HELP ME!"

He punched the creature in the face and pushed away from it, falling into the floor. He quickly looked back up at the creature and gasped at what he saw; Gilbert was bending over slightly, clutching his aching eye. He had punched Gilbert in the face. "Damn… Muttered the albino, He looked at Matthew with his good eye, smiling a little. "You have one hell of a punch."

"Oh maple! I'm so sorry!" Cried Matthew, tears were quickly building up in his eyes, generously spilling over. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Gilbert still smiled at Matthew as he crouched down in front of him and pulled him into a one armed hug. "It's okay Birdie… I know you didn't mean to. Let's get you to bed. You look like you need the rest."

"But you need to put ice on your eye!" Cried Matthew in a panic.

Gilbert smiled kindly at Matthew, running his fingers through the small blonds hair. "I'll get one once I know you're in bed."

Matthew put up no resistance as Gilbert picked him up and carried him to his bedroom. Since Gilbert had to use two arms to carry him, Matthew didn't look at his face. He didn't want to see the damage he had inflicted on him. '_Why does he put up with me? I'm a horrible person. I keep hurting him over and over again. I should just be left alone. I'm a danger to everyone around me._' When Gilbert had set Matthew in his room he went off to go get an ice pack out of the fridge.

Alone, Matthew couldn't stop all the horrible thoughts from filling his mind. He reached out for Kuma and froze. "Kuma's still in the attic." He quickly sat up, feeling instantly dizzy again. He had moved too quickly and collapsed onto the floor next to his bed. "Kuma… I-I need him…" He whimpered.

The door opened up and Gilbert walked back in, holding an ice pack to his eye with one hand and Kuma in the other. "Shit! What the fuck happened?"

Matthew looked up at Gilbert, tears still rolling down his face. "I-I left Kuma… Thank you."

Gilbert smiled and put Kuma on the bed before picking Matthew up and putting him back on the bed. As soon as he could, Matthew grabbed onto Kuma, still crying horribly over what had happened. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

He felt Gilbert pull him over and rest his head against his lap. He gently ran his fingers through Matthew's hair. "It's okay Birdie." He cooed softly. "Just relax and calm down. I'm not upset at you at all. Just take deep breaths and it will all be fine."

"Listen to him." Said Kuma as he batted his paws against Matthew's cheeks. "If you calm down you will feel better. Please listen to him."

Matthew whimpered a little and slowly calmed himself down from hysterical crying to quiet sobbing. He hated himself so much for hurting Gilbert. It made his whole body ach with pain, especially his chest. '_Why? Why does it hurt so much? I don't want to hurt him. I don't want to hurt the person I love…_' Matthew went quiet at this sudden revelation. '_Love? Do really…? Do I even know what is or how to love?_' He looked up at Gilbert with empty eyes. '_Is it weird for a guy to love another guy?_'

Gilbert looked down at Matthew, still smiling. "You feeling a little better Matthew? I think you've got a fever. You should stay in bed until you're better."

Matthew nodded and looked away. "Okay… Thanks for always being here for me… I know I don't deserve it."

"You don't have to thank me." Said Gilbert as he soothingly ran his fingers through Matthew's hair. "I'll always be here for you no matter what because I lo… like… I like you. You're important to me. You're my best friend."

Matthew smiled a little and closed his eyes. "You're important to me too, Gil."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Well I hope you guys like that and I hope you all understand the significance of that light box thing… please review


	9. CreepyPasta

**Shinigami-cat: **So I hope you all like this chapter, took some effort on my part but oh well… I OWN NOTHING!

**CreepyPasta**

_How Am I feeling?  
I__'m not okay- My Chemical Romance_

_Will I get far in life?  
__Looking Glass- The Birthday Massacre_

_How do my friends see me?  
__Raised by the wolves- Falling in Reverse_

_What is the story of my life?  
__S.C.A.V.A – Hollywood Undead_

_What was high school like?  
__Kill Everybody- Skrillex_

_How am I going to get ahead in life?  
__Don't mess with me-Temposhark_

_What is the best thing about me?  
__Angel with a shot gun- The Cab_

_How is today going to be?  
__Labyrinth- Oomph!_

_What song will play at my funeral?  
__Dance with the devil- Breaking Benjamin_

_How does the world see me?  
__Pain- Hollywood Undead_

_Will I have a happy life?  
__Lovers End- The Birthday Massacre_

_Do people secretly lust after me?  
__Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking off her clothes- Panic at the Disco._

_What type of men/women do I like?  
__Psycho- 12 Stones_

Gilbert frowned a little as he looked over his answers again. This was probably one of the weirdest iPod tests he'd done in ages. But he didn't really mind. This was just something to do to pass the time. Biology was boring, unless they were cutting up a frog or some miscellaneous body part.

He looked out the window and sighed. '_Well at least that killed about ten minutes of boring lectures about… What the fuck are we being taught?_' He glanced up at the projection on the board and snorted. '_Who gives a shit about the chemical equation for photosynthesis? When the hell would I use that?_'

Looking back out the window he let his eyes wander over the fence. The back of the school was surrounded by the forest. He didn't understand what Matthew saw when he looked at them. As far as Gilbert was concerned the forests were just a place where trees grew and animals lived.

He frowned a little as he studied the trees. '_It seems a little quiet out there today… Like all the birds have gone and flown away like that night… I guess it's a little creepy, but it isn't that bad._' He was pulled out of his thoughts when the bell rang and Francis walked over to him.

"Are you okay, Gilbert?" He asked. "You seem a little spaced out."

Gilbert shrugged and quickly gathered his books. "I know… I guess I just have a lot to think about… Well I don't really, it just feels like I do. Do you ever feel like that sometimes?"

"Occasionally." Said Francis, he turned and started to walk out of the classroom with Gilbert quickly following. "By the way, have you confessed to Matthew yet?"

Gilbert shook his head. "No… I almost did the other day, but it just didn't feel like the right time."

"How could it not be the right time?" Asked Francis in shock. He believed that love should always come first and nothing could ever stop true love.

"Matthew threw a fit and punched me in the face." Deadpanned Gilbert, indicating to his bruised left eye. "How the hell did you not see that? Are you blind? Besides he was crying and freaking out because he hit me when he regained his senses… I couldn't tell him."

Francis looked like he had just been told the most horrific thing in the world, but he quickly composed himself. "Firstly, Matthew has one hell of an arm. I though you got into a fight with Ivan or Carlos again. Secondly, if you had told him you loved him then or even just kissed him he would have been in too much of a catatonic state to do anything!"

"That's taking advantage!" Snapped Gilbert.

"It's only taking advantage if you try to rape them." Snapped Francis right back. "Who knows? Maybe Matthew likes you too? And if he doesn't you could have gotten a kiss out of it."

Gilbert shook his head and sighed. "You have some mixed morals my friend."

"Would you have me any other way?" Asked Francis with a mischievous smile. Suddenly a blur of brown and blue dashed past them, knocking the books out of Francis's arms. "Well that was rude." Muttered Francis.

"Fuck off!" Snapped the blur as it rounded the corner. Said blur was none other than Lovino. He was Antonio's boyfriend, but sometimes it was difficult to see that at all. Lovino acted like he hated Antonio most of the time, but Lovino hated everyone in general. He especially seemed to hold some hatred towards Gilbert and his brother Ludwig. Mainly because Feliciano, who was Lovino's younger brother by a year, was best friends with Ludwig. Lovino was a weird one, but Antonio couldn't seem to push him away, if anything it made him chase after Lovino even more. Literally sometimes.

Almost on cue Antonio came barrelling down the hallway, stopping in front of Gilbert and Francis. "Hey guys, have you seen Lovino?" He looked like an excited puppy.

Francis frowned and pointed down the hall. "Blue and brown blur. You can't miss him." Antonio grinned and was about to run off, but Francis quickly grabbed him before he could get a chance to run. "Quick question, how did you confess to Lovino again and how did he react?"

Antonio thought for a second. "Um… It was in the nurses office after he twisted his ankle during PE. He punched me and called me a bastard before muttering under his breath that he loved me too. Now can I please go get him?"

Francis nodded and let Antonio go. "Go for it." Said person grinned and dashed down the hall. When he was gone Francis quickly collected his books and stood up again. "You see? If Antonio can confess to the likes of that and not get his dick shot off, that you have a chance with Matthew. Heck you have more of a chance."

Gilbert shrugged. "It just never seems like the right time with him… and I don't know if it'll ever be the right time…"

"Then make it the right time!" Snapped Francis. "Do something to make it the right time. Give him flowers, chocolate, jewellery , toys… anything. Just set the mood and tell him."

"Not all of us are romantics like you." Muttered Gilbert sarcastically. He quickly glanced at his time table and grinned. "Sweet! Free period. What about you?"

"Food tec." Said Francis without hesitation. "Honestly, do you not remember what your friends do when you have nothing on?" He sighed and walked down the hall to his class. "But seriously! You need to tell him, it will keep eating away at you until you do!"

Gilbert chuckled and rolled his eyes, making his way to the library. The school was relatively small but not that small. There were only two places any one could go if they had a free period, the library or outside. Today was actually quite nice and Gilbert wouldn't have minded going outside, but there wasn't enough shade for him to sit outside safely so to the library it was.

It was relatively quiet in the library, with only a few groups of people clustered around laptops and computers. As he looked around for a place to sit he happened to notice two people in particular. They were sitting around one laptop reading something on a web page. Gilbert recognized the pair as Kiku and Alfred. Kiku was a friend of his brother who felt pretty strongly about his Japanese culture and Alfred looked a lot like Matthew, but had bright blue eyes, his hair was shorter with a cowlick and he was more broad shouldered.

Gilbert frowned a little and walked over to the pair, mildly curious about what they were talking about. He grinned to himself when he was in ear shot of them and heard what they were talking about.

"Dude…" Muttered Alfred in a shaking voice. "I don't know which one is scarier… The truth behind the song 'Circle you, circle you' or this… I mean I still have this game at home."

"Both are quite nerve wracking." Said Kiku in a calmer voice. "Well what would you rather want to happen? Go to the orphanage where you might get killed or play a game that's possessed by some kind of spirit?

"… I don't know." Muttered Alfred. "They are both scary as hell."

Slowly Gilbert walked up behind them and grabbed each by the shoulder, causing Kiku to jump and Alfred to shout a little. Gilbert just laughed at them. "Scaring the crap out of each other with scary stories again?" Asked Gilbert with a slight smirk. He looked over Alfred's shoulder and frowned a little. "What's with the possessed looking Zelda games?"

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Dude, this is Ben. How could you not know about Ben? That's like saying you don't know about Smile dog, the Rake or Jeff the killer."

"Doesn't ring a bell." Said Gilbert with a shrug. "What are they? Some kind of B grade horror movie monsters?"

"Not exactly Gilbert-san." Said Kiku quietly. "It's known as a CreepyPasta. It's from a website where people post short horror stories. Some of the most famous CreepyPasta's are Smile dog, Smile cat, Jeff the killer, Jane the killer, the Rake and of course Slenderman."

Alfred shivered a little. "I'd rather deal with the Rake than Slenderman…"

"What's a Slenderman?" Asked Gilbert curiously.

Alfred shook his head. "Dude… Slenderman is so creepy. He's this guy that stands in the middle of the forest and takes kids. He's super tall, has a white face, wears a black suit and has these tentacles that sprout out of his back. He's really scary."

Gilbert rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Wow, you know American's are fat when they are afraid of a guy called 'Slender' man."

"Shut up." Muttered Alfred.

"Actually, Slenderman first appeared in the German mythology." Said Kiku. "He had a different name and had an extra set of arms instead of tentacles but he kidnapped children and stalks his victims before he takes them."

"Yeah…" Muttered Alfred. "And no one knows what he does to those kids… It's freaky."

Gilbert frowned a little. "So… What else does this Slenderman do?"

"He stalks his victims." Said Kiku calmly. "His victims feel like their being watched all the time and he occasionally shows himself to them to make them more fearful."

"Yeah." Said Alfred. "There are also like all these creepy pages and stuff. There are like eight of them and they are stuck all over the forest. They say things like; 'Don't look or it takes you', 'Can't run', 'Help me', 'Always watches, no eyes', 'Leave me alone', 'No, no, no, no, no', 'Follows' and a page that's full of scribbled trees and Slenderman." He thought for a moment. "Oh yeah and there are 'the Slender symptoms' So that's insomnia, seeling like you're being watched constantly and constantly drawing a circle with a cross through it… Is that it?"

Kiku frowned a little. "One of the symptoms is also diarrhoea, but that's all dependant."

"I see…" Muttered Gilbert. "So what's the website called again?"

"Just Google CreepyPasta." Said Alfred. "You should be able to find it from there."

Gilbert nodded. "Okay. Thanks." He walked over to a free computer and looked up the website. He never really cared too much for horror stories or similar things. He was kind of turned off those things when he watched Human Centipede. But for some reason he couldn't help but feel compelled to look this up. He wanted to find out more about Slenderman. Call it instinct, a hunch or even a gut feeling, but Gilbert just felt like there was something important he was missing. He could work on his lame history assignment later.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

"Slenderman?" Asked Matthew, tilting his head in slight confusion. "What's that?"

Gilbert nervously looked away from the smaller blond. "W-well… You said that something attacked you right? And when you do talk about it, even though it's very rare and you usually talk about it when you're having a fit… It sounds like Slenderman is what's attacking you." He knew it was dumb and probably dangerous to suggest something like that, but Matthew might open up a little more if he felt comfortable enough around Gilbert and realized that he didn't care what the creature was.

Matthew frowned a little. "Can I see a picture?"

"Sure." Muttered Gilbert. He took his phone out and started to look for an image on his phone. He got a picture up and showed it to Matthew, expecting the worst possible reaction. Instead Matthew laughed.

"What is this thing?" He asked. "For starters this guy doesn't even look like he can move properly. It just looks silly. You find the weirdest things…granted it does look a little like it…"

"Well what does it look like?" Asked Gilbert. Hopefully he would get more than a whimper and a head shake.

Matthew nervously bit his bottom lip. "O-okay… Do you have some paper and a pencil or a pen?" Gilbert pulled those things out of his backpack and handed them to Matthew, who hesitantly took them. "T-thank you…" He started to draw it. "It, has a long body like that Slenderman thing, but it's female… It wears a long black dress covered in stab marks…" As Matthew sketched away his eyes seemed to glaze over a little as his pen strokes became more erratic. "The dress has long sleeves that cover its hands, but her knife fingers always poke out… Her hair is thick and matted like she has mud or something caked in it and her face is white… until she looks at you… Then thick tar like stuff pours out of her empty sockets, the same with her mouth…" suddenly the pen snapped in his hand, getting red ink all over his hand and page. At least he snapped out whatever trance he was in. "S-sorry!"

Gilbert shrugged and took the broken pen and ink stained paper out of Matthew's hands. "It's fine. I have heaps of red pens…" He looked at the picture that Matthew had made and frowned a little. It did look similar to Slenderman, but in his opinion this thing looked scarier. "Can I keep this?"

"Go ahead." Muttered Matthew. "I don't want it…" He looked down at his hands and frowned. "I need to wash my hands." He stood up and walked to the bathroom to get rid of the red ink.

When Matthew was gone, Gilbert looked over the picture. It was scary what Matthew's imagination could come up with. '_I can't believe that Matthew thinks this attacked him… Well he did have some cuts consistent with knife wounds… But as far as I know the police found nothing at all to suggest another person was involved apart from Matthew's cuts… I don't understand it at all… There's no way something this weird could have done anything to him. I mean, it's not even real._'

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **And there you have it… Please review!


	10. Past

**Shinigami-cat: **Hey people! It's nice to know that so many of you love this fanfic! It really makes me happy like you wouldn't believe, so I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that reads my stuff, even if it's just the first chapter and decide it's not for you. I love you all… I OWN NOTHING!

**Past**

Despite popular belief, Matthew wasn't a complete wreck when it came to horror. He could watch movies full of blood and guts without his heart rate jumping a bit and often did on his laptop. He didn't use it that much but enjoyed it when he did. It was one of the ways he could push away the boredom of insomnia. At the moment he was watching the remake of Friday the 13th while he was sitting on his bed.

"I don't like this!" Whined Kuma as he pawed at Matthew's shirt. "How can you watch this? That girl got burned alive and that boy got caught in a bear trap! You can see the bones!"

Matthew put his hand over the little toys mouth. "Quiet please. This isn't even the actual part of the movie. It's the opening scene… Besides, it's fake. It's just actors in a movie. It's not real."

Kuma pushed Matthew's hand away and huffed in annoyance. "Still… It's way too scary! Way, way, way, way… Isn't that the guy that plays Sam from Supernatural?"

"Yes, yes it is." Said Matthew calmly. He really did love this blood and guts horror movie. He loved the classics, though in his opinion most could be classified as comedy now. The blood looked way to fake, blood splatter was too big, the acting over dramatized and it was over all just funny. Remakes, like the one he was watching, were way scarier and more realistic. It would give him the shivers, but in a good way.

Kuma cried out in shock when someone got shot with an arrow on screen and started to claw at Matthew's shirt again. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

With a sigh, Matthew paused it but at the worst possible time. Right when the stereotypical blond bimbo got killed off. This time it was a knife in the top of her head. She shouldn't have hid under the dock. "Better now?"

Kuma frowned and slammed the laptop shut before pushing it off the bed. "Better."

"… You didn't have to kick it off."

"Yes I did." Said Kuma. He marched back over to Matthew and sat down in his lap. "Scary movies aren't fun… How can you watch that after everything you've been though?

"I… I don't know…" Muttered Matthew quietly. He sighed a little. Most horror movies he could watch without even thinking twice, the only ones that really terrified him were the horror movies where the monster and or killer was hiding in the fog. Those movies scared the crap out of him. "I guess it's because I know that those things could never happen in real life… It's just fiction. A good changed"

Kuma frowned a little, but reluctantly nodded. "Okay… But change means neither good nor bad. It just mean not the same."

"You are very wise these days." Said Matthew as he patted the bear's fur. He looked over to his clock and smiled a little. "The sun should be coming up soon… I hope it will be sunny, but I think the forecast was for rain… At least when there's rain there shouldn't be a fog."

Kuma nodded in agreement and snuggled into Matthew's shirt. "Lay down or lean back." He muttered. With no objections, Matthew did just that and Kuma crawled onto his chest and curled up.

A small smile tugged at Matthew's lips as he watched Kuma. He was like a small dog sometimes, but softer and could talk and was a toy. He would wait a few more hours until he emerged from his room and maybe take a bath, depending on how he felt. After that he would see what his uncle had planned for the day. It had been a while since Matthew had seen the doctor, so maybe they would go there today.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Ink blots were weird. Matthew didn't understand them at all. They were just misshapen black blobs. He assumed it was something to do with what he saw, but all he saw were blobs, so half the time he would make things up and the other half he could actually kind of see something. "A skull… Cockroaches… Squashed scorpion… Dead rabbit… A doll… Insects eating something on the floor… A moth…"

The doctor nodded as he quickly jotted down what Matthew said. "Only one more ink blot and then we're done." He held up the last card. It didn't look like anything. It was just a black blob.

Matthew shrugged. "A unicorn frolicking in a field of flowers. It's just a blob. I don't see anything. It's just an ink blot."

"I see a smashed fly." Said Kuma as he played with Matthew's fingers. "A smashed fly, all squished up on the page."

"Come now, Matthew." Said the doctor in an annoyed tone. "There's no need to act like that. I'm just trying to help you and I can't do that if you're giving me false information."

Matthew shrugged and looked out the window. He didn't feel comfortable in this office, even when on the therapists chair. He didn't feel comfortable in any room that the doctor was in. It just made him feel all anxious and a little frustrated. It was annoying to say the least. He was just thankful that his uncle was waiting outside for him today, instead of sitting in with him.

When Matthew didn't give a response the doctor sighed. "For example you still have yet to tell me how you got those bruises on your knuckles."

Matthew looked down at his hand and frowned. He didn't think he had punched Gilbert that badly. "I don't recall. How do you think I got them?"

"It's not my place to make those assumptions." Said the older man. "But if you want me to take a guess I would say self-harm."

"I haven't punched any walls or floors." Muttered Matthew. "If I had I would have made sure that I left a hole the size of my fist."

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm."

"I don't appreciate you suggesting that I do self-mutilation." Said Matthew drily. "So I guess we are both even." Matthew could tell that the doctor was slowly losing his patience with him, but he couldn't care less. He didn't need this today.

"Is there something wrong?" Asked the doctor slowly. "You seem more irritable today. Did something happen at home or was it Gilbert?"

'_Perhaps punching Gilbert because I thought he was 'It', but you wouldn't care about that._' He thought bitterly. '_You would probably use that as an excuse to lock me away again._'

"I'm waiting for an answer." Said the doctor with a small frown.

Matthew looked up at him and sighed. "What does it matter? If I say it was self-harm I get sent away, if I say that it was an accident you will assume I'm lying and I get sent away anyway. That's just how it is. You don't like me. You don't care if I get better or not. I'm more use to you while I'm like this and you can get even more money out of me if I'm sent away."

"I'm concerned about how you view the world… It's very dark."

Matthew shrugged, looking out the window again. "Does it matter? How one views the world all depends on their experiences. Live a good life and the world seems like a bright and happy place… Live a bad life and the world seems like a dark and horrible place… My life has never been that happy."

The doctor nodded a little as he looked over his notes. "I assume you are referring to the house fire that killed your parents."

When Matthew was about seven his house caught on fire due to what was assumed to be faulty wiring. The house burnt to the ground. It was an open and shut case, there was only one or two things that were never logically explained. The first was Matthew's room; it was the only place untouched by the fire. Not a single item within that place was. The second was how Matthew only suffered minor smoke inhalation when the fire seemed to have started outside his room. It was one of the many mysteries that would probably never be solved.

When Matthew made no response he continued. "Do you feel guilty that you're the only survivor? Is that why you constantly seek out the darkness?"

"I don't seek it out." Muttered Matthew. "It seeks me out… It's almost like I'm a magnet for the darkness. The darkness follows me constantly and just sucks me in."

"… Do you want to get better?" Asked the doctor in a serious tone. "Because it sounds like you don't want to."

"Who would want to be haunted by visions of women with knife fingers, blood, noses and the fear that as soon as you let your guard down something might attack you without mercy or regret?" Asked Matthew calmly. "I would give anything to never have lived through that."

The doctor frowned and nodded. "I see… I'll be back in a second. I'll just go and get your uncle so you can go…" He got up and left the room. Matthew wasn't stupid. He knew that the doctor meant he was going to tell his uncle what he thought was wrong with him, prescribe some expensive drug and arrange another appointment.

"The doctor is a quack." Growled Kuma darkly. He really didn't like the doctor at all. The bear would probably rip him a new one if he could. There just seemed to be something about the doctor that he couldn't stand.

Matthew just smiled at the squirming bundle of fur and patted him to try and calm him down. "It's okay… He's just doing his job…"

"He sucks at his job." Muttered Kuma in disgust.

"You shouldn't say things like that…" Said Matthew. "You'll just make people mad."

"No one is around." Said Kuma with a grin. "I can say whatever I want and they won't hear me! The doctor is a fuck wit! The doctor is a quack! The doctor is a paedophile! The doctor touches little boys and should be locked up! The doctor is a racist! The doctor fucks dogs!"

"… You have a lot and I mean a lot of anger issues." Muttered Matthew quietly.

"The doctor fucked a melon!" Yelled Kuma. "The doctor does drugs! The doctor has no qualifications! The doctor fucked his sister! The doctors sister is his mother! The doctor rapes people!"

Matthew rolled his eyes and put his hand over Kuma's mouth. "Remember when I said you were wise today? Well I take that back. You're just fell of hate today aren't you?"

Kuma shrugged and pushed Matthew's hand away. "In case you haven't noticed I really, really hate this doctor. He always makes you depressed and asks you really confusing questions that make my head hurt. You don't need this."

Matthew was about to say something when the door opened again and both Samuel and the doctor walked in. Samuel smiled a little. "Come on Mattie, it's time to go." Matthew nodded and stood up, following his uncle out of the building and back to the car. Visiting the hospital in Rivertown always took forever.

The car trip back was relatively quiet, but when they were about halfway back Samuel decided to strike up a conversation. "How was it?"

"The usual." Muttered Matthew. "Show's me some pictures and asks me what I think about them… and then he starts asking about the fire… I can't really remember anything from that night…"

Samuel frowned a little and nodded. "I see… is there anything you do remember from that night?"

The smaller blond shook his head sadly. "No… Just the smell of burning… I was too young." He probably remembered more, but had locked it away in his mind so he wouldn't have to deal with it. That seemed like something he would do. Lock away his emotions so that nothing could hurt him. It sounded like something he would do. "C-can you tell me about… about my mama?" He asked softly.

His mother happened to be Samuel's fraternal twin sister and were quite close while she was alive. Sometimes Samuel would talk about her, but other times it was difficult. Matthew still didn't know why that was. They were close, but it had been years since the accident. He should have been able to open up about her to her own son once in a while.

Today he actually seemed like he was willing to share. "She was a good woman…" Said Samuel quietly. "She made friends where ever she went with just a smile, it didn't matter who they were. She was always the friendly kind… Brought lots of sick animals home too." He chuckled a little. "One time we went on a vacation to America and she bought a bunch of rattle snake eggs into the caravan. Scared the hell out of your grandpa when they started hatching. Your grandma on the other hand just laughed and collected them all in a box. Not a single one bit her… She then put them back outside and your mama was furious."

Matthew smiled a little. "She really loved animals didn't she?"

"Yep." Said Samuel happily. "She was convinced that the little fellas wouldn't survive without her… Your grandpa slapped her upside the head for that one and your grandma slapped him upside the head for slapping your mama. Good times… Good times… Your mama always had a way with animals, always loved them and they loved her."

"Well she would have loved me then!" Said Kuma happily as he wiggled around in Matthew's lap. "I'm the cutest animal in the whole world! I'm adorable!"

This made Matthew roll his eyes a little and gently push down on Kuma's head. "I wish I remembered more about her…"

Samuel sighed a little and nodded. "Yeah… She was an amazing woman… I'll try to find some of her old stuff. I think I have some of it in the attic or something. Maybe an old book or something… Do you want to get some ice cream?"

Matthew nodded enthusiastically. If his uncle was in a good mood today he wanted to take full advantage of it. "Yes please."

Samuel grinned and reached over to Matthew, messing up his hair a little. "That a boy." Matthew liked it when his uncle wasn't stressed out. It made him feel calm and in return he liked to think that it made the older man feel calmer too.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Once Matthew was back home he went straight back to watching horror movies. This time he was watching Saw. A wonderfully gruesome and horrific series. He loved it. Though he had considered watching Human Centipede again he decided against it after eating chocolate ice cream.

And once again, Kuma was attacking Matthew's shirt in mild panic. "Turn it off! Turn it off! Turn it off!"

Matthew rolled his eyes and put his hand over the bears face. "There, all better now. Now please be quiet. I want to watch this one before the sun rises again." Once again, Matthew had stayed up all night watching horror movies.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Yep… so I hope you all liked that, I'll update soon… Please review!


	11. Skype

**Shinigami-cat: **Sorry that the last chapter was a little boring and filled with Kuma yelling stuff. I'll try to make it up in this chapter. Also I can't make up creepy songs for shit so hooray for Dead Space and all my information about monsters in this is bullshit… I OWN NOTHING!

**Skype**

"So that's how I got my mama's old diaries!" Said Matthew happily as he sat on his bed surrounded by books. "It's pretty cool huh?"

Gilbert nodded in agreement as he looked at the blond. "Ja… I'm surprised that Samuel had a good day. If you ask me he needs antidepressants or something. He's too uptight." He had just gotten back from another boring school day and wanted to hang with his Birdie for a bit. He just didn't expect him to be fawning over his mother's old diaries, but he was happy for him. Matthew was so young when he lost them, it was nice to see him happy about them.

"I guess he is a little uptight." Said Matthew softly. "But I think he's just stressed about stuff. He should drink some herbal tea." He picked up one of the diaries and happily flicked through it. "I'm amazed that mama still kept a diary when she got married…"

Gilbert smiled a little and picked up one of the books. "That's pretty awesome… Are they all in French?"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah, my grandma was French and my grandpa was from Canada, the French speaking part. So I guess my mama just grew up speaking it. Same with Samuel." He smiled a little as he started to read an entry.

It always tugged at Gilbert heart strings when Matthew smiled. "What are you reading?"

"It's an entry about when my mama found out she was pregnant with me." Said Matthew happily. "She was really happy and papa was too… She was hoping for a girl, but really didn't care as long as the baby was healthy." He flicked ahead a few pages and chuckled a little. "Apparently papa was stressing out a lot because mama kept having weird cravings."

Gilbert smiled a little and walked over to Matthew, looking over his shoulder. He couldn't understand a single word of it, but if those random images of oysters, honey, ice cream and mustard were anything to go by her cravings were weird as hell. "What did she eat?"

"There's a list of things right here." Said Matthew with a smile. "Butterscotch ice cream covered in hot sauce and pickles, fish with strawberry topping and tomatoes, deep fried potatoes smothered in anchovy paste and garnished with pickled sheep's brains, caramelized ox tongue with cherry syrup and mushy peas… Oh gross… Black pudding with chicken skins glazed with coca cola and… Oh boy…"

"What?" Asked Gilbert curiously. He didn't know what it was, but it couldn't have been that bad.

Matthew cleared his throat a little. "Um… Bulls testicles…"

"… Where the hell do you get them here?" Asked Gilbert in horror.

"I really don't want to know…" Muttered Matthew quietly. He sighed a little and closed the book. "I think that's enough for now…"

Gilbert nodded in agreement, still cringing. " Yeah… poor bulls… No balls… man hood slightly crushed…"

Matthew nodded in agreement. "Yeah… How are you going with school stuff?"

"Just the usual stuff." Muttered Gilbert. "I have an assignment on the town to do though… I've branched off to do stuff on the criminal side of the town's history and the fire in the morgue."

"There was a fire in the morgue?" Asked Matthew in confusion. It didn't seem like he knew that bit of information."

"Yeah." Said Gilbert. "Could I take some pictures of that hidden room? I just need them for my project. That's all. If you don't want me to I won't."

Matthew thought for a second before nodding. "Sure… that sounds fine… Just say you got them off some website or something… If my uncle found out about that room be would board it up for good… It's the only place in the house that's still quiet and still…"

Gilbert frowned a little. He still didn't understand what Matthew meant by that at all. "Okay… Want me to tell you about anything I find on this old place?"

"I'd like that." Said Matthew quietly. "I really would."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Later that night, Gilbert went onto Skype to see if his cousin had anything for him. Within moments he was connected with the pointy toothed teen. "Hey Vlad, what's up?"

"Nothing much." Mused the Romanian. "Just a bit of this and a bit of that. The usual stuff."

"How very odd of you." Said Gilbert

"So I got what you asked for." Said Vlad happily. I emailed you everything, but you are not going to believe it at all."

Gilbert frowned a little. "Okay… What is it?"

"That chick that died fifty years ago isn't the only one. Every decade someone in Cutter Valley gets murdered." Said Vlad. "But that's not all, they get killed and found in the same way; stabbed multiple times and found half buried under a tree. It's been happening for years further back than any newspaper can tell me."

Gilbert sat there shocked. He had no idea that something like this was happening. It was ridiculous, not possible. "W-what? Are you sure? How is it possible that no one has mentioned this before?"

Vlad shrugged. "Don't know… But in the earlier papers I read that these were known as The Lover killings. This was because when someone got murdered someone else, usually a boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, would commit suicide after the other was murdered. The suicides never got much publicity and were overshadowed by the murders."

Gilbert was shocked to say the least. He had no idea that the town had such a dark and unspoken history. He thought for sure that someone would have said something somewhere, even if it was just something like an urban legend. "Why would something like this be happening?" He muttered.

Vlad shrugged. "No clue… But you know what's weird? Cutter Valley wasn't the first town here. Before it was known as the Flint Valley. One would assume it was because of the large amount of flint stone there."

"People are so original when it comes to naming places and things." Muttered Gilbert.

"Tell me about it." Said Vlad. "Anyway, this place was burnt to the ground for reasons unknown at the time so Cutter Valley was built there… After that the deaths and suicides started up. They were always young people around the mid to late teens or early twenties… It's weird, but you know what's really weird?" Asked Vlad. "Someone should have died last year and someone should have committed suicide last year, but it didn't happen did it?"

Gilbert shook his head. "No… the only thing that came close to that was Matthew getting-" Gilbert's eyes went wide with shock. Matthew was covered in cut marks that were probably consistent with the other murdered children. Perhaps what Matthew was out there was actually real.

"Earth to Gilbert? Are you okay?" Asked Vlad, slightly concerned.

"Yeah…" Muttered Gilbert. "What about the suicides? Were there anything in common with them? Did they even write suicide notes?"

"Not really…" Said Vlad. "You have all the information, but the majority of suicides are by suffocation via hanging. There are a few cases of people slitting their throat and swallowing poison… Did anyone in your town commit suicide last year?"

Gilbert shook his head. "No… I don't think so… I'll check on that. You've been a great help, Vlad."

Vlad grinned happily. "No worries, and just because I could I looked up that old morgue. Good news everyone that went in there was already dead, bad news the guy that own the place ate a bullet out in the woods. The police found his body because of the animals picking him clean."

Gilbert frowned a little. "Ouch… That sucks. So, did he leave a note or something?"

Vlad nodded and picked something up off his desk. "Yeah I printed it out… It's a nursery rhyme… Let's see; _Ring around the rosie, pocket full of posies. Ashes, ashes we all fall down. Ring around the rosie, what do you suppose we can do to fight the darkness in which we drown. Ring around the rosie, this evil thing it knows me. Lost souls surround me I can't fall down_… Something like that. It's fucking difficult to find the proper one."

"What do you mean the proper one?" Asked Gilbert. He didn't understand want Vlad meant, but he knew he was going to find out soon. Vlad really loved the twisted and different. He would find out anything and everything he could.

Vlad's grin widened. "Cutter Valley is full of conspiracy theories… Well for people on the internet at least. Lots of people that believe in the paranormal believe that there's something freaky going on in your town…"

"For example?"

"For example, Flint Valley was said to be a place where demons lived by the nomads that walked through there. There's said to be a pack of demonic dogs that kill intruders or some shit. There's other ones about people that used to do sacrifices to the harvest gods by sacrificing virgin men and women… Oh and my personal favourite is this one about a witch and her lover that did a murder suicide pact thing to curse the town." Vlad leaned back in his chair and smiled a little. "It's all bullshit, but it's interesting."

Gilbert nodded in agreement. "Ja, that sounds odd… Is there any information on the suicides? Legends and stuff?"

Vlad frowned a little and flicked through his note book. "Let's see… Nothing much. Just the usual possessed by ghosts and stuff… Something about fogs and stuff…"

"What about them?" Asked Gilbert a little too quickly.

Vlad frowned a little. "You know you can just read it… I emailed you everything…"

"I know." Said Gilbert quietly. "But I want to hear it from you… I'd probably just skim read and pass it anyway."

Taking that as a valid answer, Vlad quickly found the information. "Let's see… Nothing much… It's just theories made up because the murders take place in fogs… Something like people get lured out there because they see people walking around in it or something. It's all pretty weird, but whatever. I hope this helps with your assignment."

Gilbert nodded a little. "Ja, thanks Vlad… I'll message you again if I need any more help." With that Gilbert got off Skype and quickly looked at his emails to find what his cousin had sent him. He was a little annoyed to see that there was just a bunch of boring articles, but he could live with that. Though he was surprised to see that there was actually quite a few emails from Vlad. Probably all categorized into different things.

There were the usual reports about different people turning up murdered, males and females it didn't matter. They all died the same way during the same time each year, but failing that it would be during a thick fog. Every single person would show no signs of any abnormal behaviour and then they would just disappear on night. Weather conditions made it difficult to search for people but when they were found a few days to a few weeks later they were always riddled with stab marks and cuts mainly to the chest, stomach, ankles wrists and neck. There were a few images of the cut wrists and ankles. They were sepia toned so they were really old.

He quickly opened another email and found that it had a link to a website. Quickly clicking the link, Gilbert was directed to a website on the occult. It looked a little like the CreepyPasta webpage but it wasn't.

This particular article was about fog monsters. It spoke about how fog in some ancient European tribes was considered to be demon's souls cursed to walk the earth. It then went onto talking about encounters with such spirits that people have had. Most people that have encountered these entities in the fogs were said to be children (between the ages of seven and twelve, but there was the odd case of people in their late teens or thirties seeing it) and they would often talk about seeing tall figures in long sweeping black cloaks with either no faces or a scary black smiley face.

There was also a small paragraph that mentioned where these creatures would turn up; places where violent and unjust deeds had occurred where innocent blood was shed. In other words, where a particularly nasty murder took place.

"But that doesn't make any sense…" Muttered Gilbert to himself. "All these murders took place after Cutter Valley was founded… Maybe the crime happened in Flint Valley? That probably explains why it was burnt down or something." He frowned a little and shook his head, chuckling a little. "What am I on about? It almost sounds like I'm falling for this crap. Ghosts and demons don't exist… but there's too much here for it to be a coincidence…"

A knock at his door made him jump. He quickly got up and opened the door. It was his brother. "Are you okay, Gilbert?" He asked. "You look ill."

Gilbert smiled a little. "Ja, I'm awesome… Just this assignment… I'm starting to think I'm in way over my head."

Ludwig smiled sympathetically at his older brother. "I see, well I made dinner… Do you want me to bring it up so you can keep working?"

Gilbert shook his head. "No way. I need a break from this. I'm starting to over think things and that's so not awesome for someone as awesome as me… If this keeps up my brain is going to turn into an unawesome mush."

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just wash your hands and come down when you're done."

Gilbert grinned. "Okay." He went back into his room and turned off his laptop before walking to the bathroom. As he walked to the bathroom he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. He shrugged it off as just paranoia from reading all that crap beforehand.

He walked into the bathroom and started to wash his hands. It was rather cold in the bathroom, although it usually was cooler there than any other room. The while place was covered in tiles, so it wasn't surprising. It just felt cooler to him today. Shrugging it off, Gilbert stood in front of the sink and washed his hands.

Before he actually did wash his hands he quickly looked at himself in the mirror; he looked paler than usual and he was sweating a little. So Ludwig was right to say that he looked ill. '_Damn… maybe I should wash my face too…_'

As he studied his face he happened to see a black shape out of the corner of his eye. Quickly glancing behind himself he saw nothing. "… Okay then. Now I'm seeing things." He quickly washed his hands and went down to have dinner.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Sorry about posting the wrong chapter before… Please review!


	12. Piano

**Shinigami-cat: **So here I am again! Hope you all like this chapter… I OWN NOTHING!

**Piano**

Thick green liquid slowly drizzled into the sink. Matthew couldn't help but shiver at the sight of it. When it was all out of the bottle he quickly rinsed it out a few times to make sure it was completely empty. When that was done he quickly looked himself over in the mirror; his skin looked a little dry and patchy in places and his hair looked oily and lifeless. He frowned a little as he thought about the last time had had a bath.

"Three days? Four? I don't remember…" He muttered.

The door to the bathroom slowly opened and Kuma trotted inside. "About a week. You smell funny."

Matthew sighed in defeat and picked up the plush toy. "I guess so… And if Gilbert comes over and he says I need a bath…" A slight blush dusted his cheeks at the thought. "I don't want him to see me naked anymore…"

Kuma tilted his head a little in confusion. "Why? You've seen each other naked before. When you two were younger you both would always play in the mud out the back and get covered in mud and then you would both have to get washed. I remember."

"It's different now…" Muttered Matthew as he walked back to his room to get some fresh clothes. "We're both teenagers… It's weird now… Besides I-I like him…"

"Like him in a 'friends' way or like him in a 'I want to kiss and do other things' way?" Asked Kuma innocently.

"Second one." Muttered Matthew quietly. He put Kuma on his bed and started to look through his wardrobe for some clothes. It felt unnatural warm in there today, like he was sticking his arm into the mouth of a monster. "But it doesn't matter… It's not like Gilbert would be gay, he's too awesome… Plus he dated that Hungarian girl for a while before they broke up… The best I could hope for is that he's bisexual and even then he wouldn't like me."

He could hear Kuma starting to jump on his bed. "Why? You're nice, kind, smart and pretty like a girl."

"… I don't know if I should thank you or hit you." Whispered Matthew. He pulled some random articles of clothing out of the wardrobe and turned to Kuma. "I'm not a girl and I don't look like one."

Kuma tilted his head to the side a little. "Well, you have softer facial features and big eyes and long natural lashes… Fem boy. You are a boy that looks like a girl… You also have a slightly curved body type similar to a girls, but your shoulders are too broad, your voice is too deep, you have big hands and feet and you have a penis."

Matthew looked at the toy, lost for worlds. He looked at the bear in a stunned trance for a few moments before sighing a little. "I'm going to stop talking to you now…" He turned to leave the room when he heard Kuma jump onto the floor and follow him, tugging at his pyjama pants.

"I wasn't insulting you… I was just saying that you're attractive. You have a very cute and adorable look while still looking like you. It's your natural look."

"It doesn't matter how I look." Said Matthew. "Even if I am those things I'm mentally unstable. For crying out loud I'm talking to a toy! I know you're not really talking to me or anything, but I can't stop myself from feeding this delusion… No one wants someone who's sick."

"You're not sick." Said Kuma quietly. "I don't know who you are, but I know you aren't sick. You never were. You just see and hear the things they don't… Just because some people are colour blind or deaf or mute or have not taste buds or no sense of smell does that mean they are sick? No it doesn't. You're just experiencing like a different way."

Matthew gently shook Kuma off his leg and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He knew that Kuma was just trying to be nice to him, but the truth was that nothing the bear said would make him feel better at all. He was nothing more than a pathetic mess and he knew that it was a painfully true fact.

He put his clothes down, took off his glasses and stripped down before filling up the tub half way with cold water. He shivered a little when he got into the water, but he didn't mind. It was kind of refreshing against his skin. He liked it a lot. He quickly washed his hair before relaxing into the bath, it had become room temperature.

With a sad smile he pulled his knees up to his chest and sighed sadly. '_He'll never love me… I'm just a freak and a weirdo. There's no way he would ever accept my feelings if I told him… But then again he might, even if he doesn't really like me that way. He would do it to spare my feelings… That would hurt more._'

The gurgle and clank of the pipes in the walls snapped the blond out of his negative thought spiral. Matthew watched in shock as the tap started to rattle around. Just as quickly as it started it stopped and Matthew could breathe a sigh of relief. Then blood started to flow out of the pipe into the tub, turning the water red. Matthew was too afraid to move. Instead he just sat there and watched in horror as the thick, rich red liquid filled it and when the blood stopped flowing, maggots started to fill the tub. The larva squirmed around in the bloody water, trying to crawl up the sides of the tub and onto Matthew's skin.

Matthew quickly swatted them off as panic started to skin in. He wanted to get up and out of that disgusting water, but his legs had become like jelly. He couldn't move. "Get off me…" He whispered as he knocked the creepy crawlies off his skin. "Get off me. Get off, get off, get off, get off!" He voice was become more frantic with every second. "GET OFF! GET OFF! GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

Someone jiggled the doorknob. "Birdie? What the hell's going on in there?" Snapped the familiar voice of Gilbert. "Open the door, let me in."

Matthew quickly looked over at the door then back to the water. It was clear again with no traces of blood or maggots ever being in there. "O-one second." Said Matthew as he quickly pulled himself out of the tub. "I-I need to get dressed." He quickly dried himself off and pulled on his clothes. He frowned a little in annoyance when he realized he left his pants in his room. Though he was thankful he had grabbed a hockey jersey.

Gilbert knocked on the door again. "Birdie, if you don't open this door right now I will kick it open!" Matthew gulped and quickly unlocked the door. He did not want to explain to his uncle that Gilbert happened to kick it open while he was in the bath. That would just lead to awkward questions and a possible visit by the police and the doctor.

"I'm fine, Gilbert." Said Matthew quickly as he pulled open the door. He could feel the blush in his cheeks rising as he looked up at Gilbert while nervously holding down his jersey with one hand. Even though he didn't need to, it came to about mid-thigh on him.

"Not expecting house guests were you?" Asked Gilbert. There was slight mockery in his voice, but it wasn't hurtful, it was just something that was there.

"N-no…" Whispered Matthew quietly. He felt too embarrassed to say anything else. Gilbert just gave a knowing nod and walked past Matthew into the bathroom and started to look through the draws under the sink. After a few moments he pulled out a hair dryer. "What are you going to do with that?"

"Dry your hair of course." Said Gilbert, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's really wet. Come on, let's go to your room." He linked arms with Matthew and tugged him back to his room. The albino gently pushed Matthew onto the bed, plugged in the hairdryer and grabbed Matthew's comb. Once he got all that he sat behind Matthew and started to dry his hair.

Matthew blushed horrible as Gilbert brushed and dried his hair. "W-why are you doing this?" Asked the small blond.

"Because I'm going to take you out somewhere nice." Said Gilbert happily. "You remember Liz right? That chick I dated, but now she's dating my cousin, Roddy?"

"I remember." Said Matthew quietly. After Gilbert and Liz split she had started dating Roderich, Gilbert's cousin and if he remembered correctly he was also part of the school band. He was probably one of the only kids that were actually allowed to play the grand piano. It was mainly for show, but why bother to have a piano if you couldn't use it.

Gilbert grinned happily and continued to brush Matthew's hair. "Well, Liz and me are still friends and I'm helping her out a little with the school talent show thingy… I pretty much got roped into moving some of her sound equipment and stuff though…"

Matthew chuckled a little. "Okay, so what's she doing this year?"

"She formed a girls band." Said Gilbert. "Since her group has the most stuff and the school hall isn't being used for anything for a few weeks we're moving stuff in there today… They're going to practice some stuff and then I thought we could go somewhere and get something to eat. You cool with that?"

Matthew nodded a little. "Sure. Sounds interesting."

Gilbert grinned and turned off the hairdryer. "Awesome. Now just put some pants and shoes on and we can get going."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

It had been ages since Matthew had been to the school. He missed it, but it wasn't always the nicest of places to him. He remembered getting bullied a lot. But it was a Saturday, so no one would be there, in fact he wasn't sure that they should be there.

Gilbert noticed his hesitation and smiled kindly at him. "Don't worry Birdie. My grandpa's the vice principle here and he's pretty nice sometimes. We're allowed to be here… Plus he's here anyway. You can see the light on in his office right up there." He pointed towards a window on the second story that had a light shining through it.

"O-okay…" Said Matthew quietly. He still didn't like this too much.

Suddenly a girl with long brown hair and shining green eyes ran towards the pair. She was grinning and waving. "Hey, Gilbert! You're late."

Gilbert nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Liz, I was just seeing if Matthew wanted to come along."

Liz frowned a little and looked over at Matthew. "Oh yeah… You got attacked last year… I thought you were still… You know…"

"Clinically, yes." Muttered Matthew. "But I'm getting better… Gilbert's helping me."

This made Liz grin from ear to ear. "Really? How wonderful! Well it's time to get moving! Those drums aren't going to move themselves. You can help out too Matthew, the more the merrier." Matthew smiled a little and nodded. He wouldn't mind helping out. "Wonderful! So just come to the hall and we'll show you what we still need moved."

They walked into the hall where some people were running around moving stuff onto stage. Matthew recognized them all from before, though he was sure that they wouldn't remember him. That is unless they remembered him as the crazy kid. He didn't mind though. Their opinions didn't matter to him as long as Gilbert still liked him.

It didn't take too long to set things up. An hour at the most and Liz, along with the rest of her band, wanted to do a sound check. No one else really cared so they let them do it. Matthew smiled a little and looked around at the girls on stage, trying to remember their names.

There was Elizaveta or 'Liz' on vocals, Katyusha on drums, Mai (a lovely and shy Taiwanese girl) on bass guitar, Lili (a short little blond girl, who was quite similar to Katyusha but she was more confident and had a flatter chest) on electric guitar and finally there was Bella (a rather crafty but good natured girl) on electric and backup vocals. They were really good. They did two songs; In the dark by The Birthday Massacre and Fire, Fire by Flyleaf.

Once they were done though the girls looked at each other, slightly dejected. "Is something wrong Elizaveta-chan?" Asked Kiku. As one would have expected pretty much all siblings and friends had been roped into helping, not just Gilbert. Kiku was friends with Elizaveta and Mai's cousin.

Liz sighed a little. "Yeah… I know we sound epic and everything but we want to expand our horizons and stuff… We want to do something cool, like play the violin and piano. Get some classic stuff in here. It'll give us an edge at the talent show… But it's not like we're going to find someone at the last minute…"

"I can play the violin." Said Gilbert.

"Gil, you don't have the lady balls to play the violin with us." Snapped Liz.

As a chorus of laughter and back handed comments started to break out. Matthew decided to have a look at some of the other things that were on stage. He didn't feel too anxious being here, which was always nice. He walked backstage and had a look at some of the things there. It was mostly instruments in cases that could easily be brought up onto the stage later on.

During his search he happened to find a piano. Just one of those plug in ones. It didn't even have a stand. It was just leaning against the wall with the other instruments. He smiled a little and moved it down so it was lying flat against the ground. He plugged it in at a power point and ghosted his fingers over the keys. '_… What am I doing? I don't know how to play the piano…_'

"Are you going to play something?" Asked Kuma as he waddled over to Matthew, holding some paper in his hands.

"W-what? I thought I left you at home." Said Matthew in shock. He remembered putting Kuma on his bed before leaving with Gilbert.

Kuma shrugged and put the paper on the piano and tapped it. "Who cares? Play this."

"I can't actually play the piano, Kuma." Muttered Matthew. "I just know some of the notes… I'm not good at it at all…"

Kuma huffed a little and sat down. "You don't need to know how to play in your head. You just need to know how to play on the inside… Your grandma was the one that taught you that. Don't you remember anything she taught you?"

"She died when I was five." Said Matthew numbly. "I hardly remember anything about her…"

Kuma shrugged and tugged on Matthew's shirt. "Just because you don't remember her in your head doesn't mean you don't remember what she taught you… Play me something. I want to hear it."

Matthew sighed a little and quickly looked over the sheet music. It was some song called. It was called The Howling by Within Temptation. He frowned a little and read the lyrics under the notes. "Let's see… When we start killing, it's all coming down right now. From the nightmare we created, I want to be awakened somehow… This song is weird."

"Who cares? I want you to play it." Said Kuma. He sat down next to Matthew and started to poke his hands. "Come on…" Matthew shrugged and started to play the song. He mainly did it to appease Kuma, he didn't really know if he was playing it right. I probably sounded horrible, like someone beating a bunch of cats to death in a bag while a buzz saw was going off. Through his eyes at least it sounded like it might have been at least been a little tolerable.

Halfway through playing he head Liz call out. "It's okay Gil, I found him!" This made Matthew jump and look up at her. Liz just grinned and sat next to him. "So you were playing The Howling? Epic. That's one of the songs we want to play but we need a violin plater and a pianist… We'd love to play with you sometime."

Matthew frowned a little and looked down, unable to meet her gaze. "M-maybe… I don't think my uncle would let me though…"

"Don't run off like that Birdie." Said Gilbert as he quickly ran over to where Matthew and Elizaveta were.

Matthew blushed a little. "S-sorry…"

"Don't be sorry." Said Gilbert. "Just tell me when you're going to… Is that Kuma? I thought you left him back home?" Matthew didn't say anything. Instead he just clutched the toy to his chest.

"Whatever, it's just a toy." Said Liz. She patted Matthew on the back, startling him slightly. "Just think about what I said. The girls and I would love to play with you sometime." She quickly glanced at Gilbert, a devilish smirk, making its way across her face. "If you know what I mean."

"Oh hell no!" Snapped Gilbert. "If I leave you and your friends alone with him and he's going to get dressed up in skirts!"

"Like you wouldn't die to see a cute little guy like him in drag." Snapped Liz right back.

"Stop saying weird things!" Yelled Gilbert. He grabbed Matthew, pulling him to his feet. "Let's go Birdie, we have things to do."

Matthew gulped a little and nodded. "O-okay…" When they were in the relative safety of the town, far away from the school, Gilbert started to apologize like crazy, saying how Elizaveta doesn't know when she's pushing things too far and other such things. Matthew just found it amusing. "It's okay Gil, she was just asking me to play with her band sometime… I guess she just wants me to play piano or something."

"I don't know…" Said Gilbert. "She always has a twisted motive and logic behind her thinking… um… Let's get something to eat."

Matthew nodded in agreement and followed Gilbert to some shop. '_I really need to start looking for something to do besides sneak out of the house… I wonder if we have any instruments at home… I'll check._'

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Well yeah… please review?


	13. Role Playing

**Shinigami-cat: **Well here's the next chapter… I OWN NOTHING!

**Role Playing**

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__What's up?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Hey Gil. Today's been pretty awesome so far. I couldn't find any instruments in the house, but I found some old books. I've started a journal._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__That's awesome. Is it helping?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Yeah, I feel more relieved now that I'm writing down my thoughts. I don't know why I didn't do this before._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__As long as it helps, it's all good._

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Thanks. It really relaxes me. My head feels clearer. Still an insomniac, but that's a given. _

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Maybe you'll sleep better now that it's all been written down?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Well not everything… I still have some secrets I don't want to put on paper._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Do tell! Are the saucy secrets? ;D_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__What? No! get your mind out of the gutter! D:_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Birdie, my mind does back stroke in the gutter for shits a giggles. _

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__It's all shits and giggles until someone giggles and shits. :/_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Good one, but spill the naughty secrets! I demand to know! XD_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Quit screwing around Gil… You're texting during class aren't you?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Maybe… :3_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Call me later. When you're not in Maths._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__How did you know I was in Maths? O_O_

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Gilbert sighed a little as he rocked back in his chair. Maths was boring as hell and Matthew was his entertainment, but now he wasn't playing along. Good thing it was almost over and that meant it would be lunch and he could actually call Matthew. He was about to give up and just let boredom slowly kill him off for the next ten minutes when he got a text from none other than Elizaveta.

_**FROM: **__Liz  
__Talk to you after school please? :3_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Why?_

_**FROM: **__Liz  
__It's important… the kitty commands you to talk to me after school! =^w^=_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Fine. I'll meet you at the gate._

_**FROM: **__Liz  
__Yay!_

Gilbert rolled his eyes a little. Liz was a strange girl. She was probably going to try and rope him into something weird again. Like moving speakers or tables or something. She was a manipulative woman sometimes, but she was nice enough.

When the bell rang Gilbert collected his things and left the room. Today he was eating lunch up on the roof with Antonio and Francis. It was over cast today, so it wouldn't be too bad to stay outside. Once again the hot topic was Gilbert and Matthew.

"Just tell him you love him already!" Cried Francis. The poor blond looked like he was going to have a fit.

"I'll tell him when I'm fucking ready!" Snapped Gilbert.

Antonio sighed and picked up a tomato. "Seriously guys, quit bickering. It's not healthy for anyone. Yes, Gilbert needs to grow a set and confess but he's right, he needs to do it in his own time… But if he doesn't do it soon he never will."

"Whose side are you on?" Whined Gilbert. "Are you guys all over the place!" He didn't understand his friends sometimes. It was annoying, more annoying than usual.

Francis frowned. "I agree with Antonio. You'll never tell him if you don't tell him soon. I say you tell him today. Damn the consequences! If you don't tell soon I will tell him!"

"Hell no." Growled Gilbert. "Fine, I'll tell him either today or tomorrow… Liz wants to meet up after school for something."

"Knowing you she just wants slave labour again." Said Francis with a smirk.

Gilbert sighed half-heartedly as he leaned back against the side of an air vent. "Probably. She's a slave driver that one… If she has a whip I'm making a run for it."

Antonio and Francis laughed happily. "You're not even dating her anymore and you're still chick whipped!"

"I'm not chick whipped!" Snapped Gilbert. "We're just friends! She's my closest female friend!"

Francis rolled his eyes. "Oh right, I forgot. Matthew has you tied around his little finger and can literally make you do anything and he doesn't even know it. It would be interesting if he did, but oh well."

"What the fuck are you saying?" Snapped Gilbert, blushing a little.

"Exactly what you think it means." Said Francis with a smirk. "Now come on boys, we have PE next and I really hope it's in the gym and not on that stupid field again."

Antonio and Gilbert groaned in agreement. The field was about a five minute walk from the school in the forest. It was a little creepy, but not too bad and knowing their PE teacher they were going to be doing some soccer. Not even playing a game, just kicking the ball around. All Gilbert could hope for was that it got too sunny for him to be outside.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Luck was not on his side as the day stayed cloudy and the gym teacher was forcing everyone to practice passing the ball to each other. They just split up into small groups and kicked the ball to each other. Which just mean that Gilbert and Francis watched Antonio show off. He was a god when it came to soccer.

"So how are you going to tell him?" Asked Francis.

Gilbert shrugged. "I don't know… Maybe I'll just blurt it out."

Francis rolled his eyes. "You're quite the romantic aren't you? Antonio, come here for a second. We're doing some roll playing."

Antonio shrugged and walked over to the pair, carrying the ball. "Okay. What's this about?"

"We are going to show Gilbert how he should confess to Matthew." Said Francis. "I shall play the part of Gilbert and you can be Matthew." With their rolls agreed upon they started their stupid over dramatized mini drama. Francis stood in front of Antonio and gently patted his head. "How are you today Matthew? You seem like you're having a better day today."

Antonio smiled shyly. "Y-yeah… It's been good so far… Are you okay Gil? You seem a little distracted…"

Francis smiled, letting his voice drop into a seductive tone. "I'm just distracted by your beautiful eyes… silky hair… and soft lips…"

"G-Gilbert?" Asked Antonio, his voice wavering a little.

Before he could say anything else, Francis pressed a finger against Antonio's lips to hush him up. "Please Matthew, if I don't get this out now I'm afraid I never will… I'm afraid I'll just keep bottling it up until I die from the pain of never letting it out."

"Gilbert…" Whispered Antonio. "You know you can tell me anything and everything… Please… Tell me what's on your mind…"

Francis bit his bottom lip a little, faking nervousness. He took Antonio's hands in his own and looked deep into his eyes. "Matthew… I understand if you don't feel the same way… But I love you. I love you more than the sun, the moon or the stars. I love you more than my own life. I would and will do anything to make you happy. I'll take away all the pain in your life and leave joy in its place. I've always loved you and I promise I will never leave you… I understand if you reject my feelings or even hate me but-"

"Say no more Gilbert." Said Antonio with a soft smile. "I love you too… I was just too afraid to admit it because… Because I'm insane."

"Never call yourself that." Said Francis sternly. "I've never thought you were that and as far as I'm concerned you never will be. I love you and that's all that matters… I don't care who is against it. I don't care if they think I'm taking advantage of you… You are beautiful… You are my pure angel… You are my precious Birdie…"

Antonio smiled, wrapping his arms around Francis's neck. "Kiss me."

Francis grinned and pulled Antonio close, but as soon as their lips were about to touch they both looked over at Gilbert with deadpan expressions. "That's how you have to do it."

"W-what?" Asked Gilbert in shock. "I-I can't do something that cheesy! I'm not Francis!"

Francis huffed and crossed his arms. "That's just rude."

Antonio shrugged and went back to kicking the ball around. "If he won't do something so cheesy, he'll never do it. Gilbert's going to be alone forever."

"I'm not going to be alone forever damn it!" Snapped Gilbert. He ran his fingers through his hair, stressed about what was happening. His friends were idiots. He didn't feel that telling Matthew would be that easy. There was too much to consider, the biggest one being that Matthew was probably straight. Though he had never shown much interest in girls before but the same went for guys. He was violently shaken out of his thoughts when a soccer ball slammed into his face. "The fuck was that for?"

"You're over thinking things." Said Antonio. "You need to just let it come naturally. If you want to say it, say it. Don't fight it. Don't even stop yourself and say that you love or like something else like you probably would. Just say it."

"Also you're getting the ball." Said Francis with a slightly flirtatious hair flip.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Fine... Where did it go?"

"Bounced off behind the trees in that direction." Said Antonio as he pointed to the forest behind Gilbert.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Thanks guys." He grumbled as he walked into the forest to get the ball back. It had rolled into a small valley and got wedged under a fallen log. "Fuck my life…" With about as much grace as a fish out of water, Gilbert kind of tumbled into the small valley.

He sighed a little and walked over to the ball and picked it up. Once he had the ball he took a moment to absorb the scenery. It was just so quiet and peaceful. He didn't understand how people couldn't like this place. It was just amazing and beautiful. A small gust of wind rushed past, sending a small chill up his spine. For some reason or another it made a knot form in the pit of his stomach.

Gilbert shook his head and walked pulled himself out of the valley and made his way back to the others. As he walked he heard something weird… It sounded a little like something metallic striking something metallic. He quickly looked around and frowned. '_Wonderful… I'm hearing things._'

"You got the ball yet Gilbert?" Called Antonio. "Or do we have to send in a search party?"

"Coming!" Called Gilbert. He quickly got back to his friends.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

By the time the end of school came around, Gilbert had completely forgotten about that weird noise and met up with Elizaveta at the school gate. "What's up Liz?"

Elizaveta smiled sweetly at him. "I got an itty bitty favour to ask you."

This made Gilbert very cautious. Elizaveta never asked him to do things like this. Whatever it was, she really wanted it. "And that would be?"

"Make Matthew practice with us sometime!" She cried out. "He's amazing! Who gives a fuck if he's not all there in the head! He is awesome and he needs to play with us damn it! The other girls agree too!"

"It's his decision, Liz." Said Gilbert calmly. He didn't want to argue with her about this. It would just come back to bite him in the end. "If he wants to he will, if he doesn't he won't. Simple as that."

"But-but if you're with him he'll agree to it!" Cried Liz. "You can play the violin too if you like! It'll be amazing!"

Gilbert shrugged. "I'll ask him, but I don't know… Why don't you just get Roderich to play for you?"

"Because he outsight refused to learn anything other than the classics." Huffed Elizaveta angrily. "Just do me this favour and I'll be so grateful! He has talent! Don't let him squander it! Does he even know you can play the violin well? Have you ever played it for him?"

"Well no… But what does this have to do with anything?" Asked Gilbert, blushing a little.

Elizaveta rolled her eyes and grabbed Gilbert by his collar and pulled him down to her eye level. "Look here buddy. You get him to play with us or I'm going to kick you so hard your five meters and pebbles you call testicles retreat back into your body never to see the light of day again!"

"Holy shit Liz! You're fucking crazy!" Snapped Gilbert. He pushed her away and pulled on his collar a bit to loosen it a little. "Don't threaten me like that!"

Elizaveta smiled a little too innocently. "You should know by now, Gil. I don't make threats. I make promises… Now man up a little and help a girl out. Who knows, he might just fall for you and your music."

"Wait what?" Asked Gilbert. "What do you mean he'll fall for me?"

Liz chuckled a little and started to walk away. "It's painfully obvious that you like him! You can't deny it, Gilbert!"

Gilbert sighed a little and rolled his eyes. "Why did I become friends with crazy psychos?"

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **And now maybe he'll finally confess! Damn idiot! If he doesn't do it soon he never will and that thing is still out there! Please review.


	14. Confess

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… Let's see if Gilbert finally says how he really feels or chickens out again. There's not much horror or anything in this chapter. Mainly fluff… I OWN NOTHING!

**Confess**

For the first time in a long time the walls in Matthew's house looked almost normal. There walls were still jutting out at odd angles at some points and the floor dipped a little in places, but apart from that everything was normal. It felt great to walk around his house without having to worry that something was going to drip on him or the floor was going to shatter from under him. He was in such high spirits that he actually decided to walk around the house and do things. So far he had washed the dishes, done the laundry and dusted most of the rooms. It felt good to be able to do these things without worrying too much.

At the moment Matthew was sitting in the morgue, writing in a journal. He would have preferred to play an instrument, but this would do just as nicely. He had been writing in one for about a week now and everything was going well. He had already filled up two A4 sized folders with his thoughts and it just felt really good to him.

Kuma frowned a little and pulled on Matthew's arm a little. "I'm hungry. Let's eat something."

Matthew smiled at the bear and picked him up. "Sure. Sounds good to me… Maybe my uncle cooked something for lunch? That would be nice." As they made their way to the kitchen, Matthew couldn't help but over hear a conversation that his uncle was having with the doctor. It almost sounded like they were having an argument because Samuel sounded a little more irritated than usual.

"Yeah I get it…" Muttered Samuel. Peeking around the corner, Matthew could see that his uncle was cooking something on the stove. He had his back to the door, but Matthew could see he was hiding a spoon in one hand and the phone in his other hand. "What do you mean he needs to go to an asylum?"

Matthew gulped a little. '_It's that doctor again… Does he still want to send me away?_'

Samuel sighed a little. "Look, I understand your concerns and everything, but he's been a lot better lately. He seems happier and he's actually doing house work because he's board instead of hiding in his room all day. He's found some kind of out let."

This made Matthew smile a little. '_H-he really thinks I'm getting better? Does this mean he'll let me go back to school or even go back to seeing the doctor once a month?_' The prospect made him giddy with excitement.

Samuel made an annoyed sound and put down the spoon. "I understand how you feel, but Matthew's my nephew and it's my decision and-" He was cut off by the doctor and growled. "You know what? Now that I think about it I don't think Matthew needs to see you this week or any other week for the rest of his life!" There was a short pause before Samuel burst out laughing. "You know what? Fuck you!"

Matthew was rather shocked at this. Samuel never swore, especially not to a doctor. '_Wow… he's really mad…_'

"And fuck you for trying to convince me to lock Matthew away like he's some kind of lunatic!" Snapped Samuel. There was another pause before Samuel shook his head. "You're going to press charges of child neglect? Fucking try. Matthew's the best he's been in months. No one's going to take him away from me. So go and fuck yourself. You old, stupid quack!" With that Samuel ended the phone call and huffed. "What an asshole."

Kuma grinned happily. "And the quack gets the boot!"

Matthew nodded in agreement. "Yep."

Samuel turned around, slightly surprised to Matthew in the doorway. "Oh… Lunch is almost ready. Chicken soup."

"Okay…" Said Matthew quietly. "Did you really mean that? I don't have to see him again, ever?"

His uncle smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah. Can you believe that quack? He called up demanding that I put you back in the asylum, but I don't think you need to go to one… Not anymore. You're getting better."

Matthew grinned and hugged Samuel tightly. "Thank you."

Samuel smiled a little and patted Matthew's head. "Go wash up."

"Okay." Said Matthew happily. He turned and happily walked up the hall to wash up. "I can't believe I don't have to see him anymore."

"I can't believe it either." Said Kuma. "It seems a little sudden, but you really must have improved a lot for him to suddenly do that. Good job. Now we never have to see that psycho again."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

"And that's what happened." Said Matthew calmly. He was sitting on his bed wither Gilbert. The albino had come over a few minutes ago and they started talking like they usually would.

"That's awesome, Birdie." Said Gilbert happily. He was grinning from ear to ear. "I hated that quack anyway. He was a total dick… Do you think you'll be able to go back to school soon?"

"Maybe." Said Matthew hopefully. He really wanted to go back there soon. Even though no one really payed much attention to him he liked learning. He looked over at Gilbert and smiled. "Is something wrong? You seem a little… off…"

Gilbert shrugged. "Just Liz being her crazy self. She just threatened to kick me in the nuts if we didn't play with her and her band."

"Oh… She's always been pretty hyper hasn't she?"

"Yeah…"

Matthew frowned a little. "Are you sure that's the only thing? I can tell when something's wrong…"

Gilbert was nervously looking down at the bed sheets. "I-it's nothing… Nothing important… It's just… Francis and Antonio were joking around and stuff today, saying how it would we should start going out and stuff…"

A blush lightly dusted Matthew's face and he chuckled nervously. "R-really? Isn't it a bit weird for two guys to be dating and stuff?"

"I guess…" Muttered Gilbert. "But it doesn't matter as long as they both like each other… That's all that really matters right?"

Matthew shrugged. "I guess so… Do you like someone at school?" It hurt him a little to ask that question, but that was probably where the conversation was heading. He knew that deep down he didn't have much of a chance with Gilbert. He was just awesome and he'd need someone just as awesome to be with him.

Gilbert blushed a little and nodded. "Y-yeah… I really, really like them and I have for years… It's just… I don't know if their gay or bisexual… I'm really worried that he'll reject me… He's also been sick lately and I don't want him to think I'm taking pity on him… What's your take on it? What should I do?"

Matthew frowned a little. "Well… If you like him you have to tell him… It's not good to keep these things bottled up."

"I guess so…" Said Gilbert quietly. "What about you Birdie? Are you straight?"

A dark blush covered Matthew's face. "N-no… Lately I've um… I'm gay…"

"Really?" Asked Gilbert. He sounded a little surprised and happy at the same time. It confused Matthew a little, but he went with it. He was probably just happy that Matthew wouldn't judge him for his feelings or something.

"Yeah… I've known it for a while and it's not that I've been keeping it a secret…" Said Matthew quickly. "It's just never been brought up before… I should probably tell my uncle…"

Gilbert shrugged and gently rubbed Matthew's back. "Whatever… You can tell him later… There's just something I need to tell you." He tilted Matthew's chin up so they were facing each other. Gilbert looked as nervous as anything. The usually awesome person was acting extremely unawesome. "Birdie… I… I really… Damn it. Why is it so hard to say?"

The smaller teen gulped a little. "Gilbert? Are you okay? You're starting to scare me…"

Gilbert sighed a little, running his fingers through his hair. His face was turning darker shades of red every second. "Shit, I'm sorry… I just… I love you." He only just whispered the last part. It was just loud enough for Matthew to hear.

Matthew's jaw dropped. He was stunned to say the least. He had no idea Gilbert felt that way about him. He didn't know what to do. Suddenly without warning he felt two paws press against his back and slammed him forwards into Gilbert, crashing their lips together.

Matthew yelped and quickly pulled back. He looked behind him and glared at the innocent looking polar bear toy behind him. "What the hell Kuma?"

Kuma smiled innocently. "What? You looked like you needed a little push. You like him and he likes you."

"That's not the point you stupid bear!" Whined Matthew. "You can't just push me into someone I like for that reason damn it!"

Before he could keep ranting at the stuffed animal two arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him forwards. "Not how I expected my first kiss with you… Pretty much a head-but and you yelling at your bear, but I'll take it."

Matthew blushed darkly and covered his face with his hands. "He pushed me! I-I didn't mean to do that! I'm sorry! I screwed up my first kiss!"

"Really? That was your first kiss?" Asked Gilbert. "Sorry about that… But does this mean you'll be my boyfriend?"

Matthew nodded, still covering his face. "Yes… I love you. I want to be your boyfriend… But are you really sure you want to be mine?"

"Of course I do." Said Gilbert, hugging Matthew a little more tightly. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm weird." Muttered Matthew. "I'm a freak. I'm insane. I'm-"

"Stop it." Said Gilbert calmly. "Just stop it. Don't ever say those things about yourself. You weren't those things then and let's face it, even if you were you are getting better. You hardly throw fits anymore and your nightmares are getting better right?"

"Yeah… a little better." Said Matthew quietly. "I'm just walking aimlessly through the woods now… I'm not even running anymore. Just walking until I wake up."

Gilbert ran his fingers through Matthew's hair, humming a little. "I see… Well that's pretty good I guess…" Matthew smiled a little and leaned into Gilbert's chest. For the first time in months things seemed to be going unbelievably well for him. He knew he should have been happy, but it just felt like he was setting himself up for a fall. One where he might not get up from.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Matthew couldn't help but notice the change in his uncle ever since he cancelled Matthew's frequent trips to the doctor. He just seemed calmer and more relaxed. It was like he had gone back to acting how he did before the incident. Perhaps the doctor kept worrying him about all his potential problems and that's what was stressing him? He wouldn't have been surprised.

"If you keep this up, you'll be back at school in no time." Said Samuel with a small smile during dinner later that night.

Matthew's eyes lit up. "R-really? I can go back?"

"As long as you keep improving I see no reason why you can't go back." Said Samuel with a small smile. "You've improved so much over the past few days… Whatever you're doing keep it up."

Matthew smiled brightly, but it quickly faded. "I will… Do I need a psychological evaluation before I'm actually allowed back?"

"Maybe… But if that's the case we'll send you to a different doctor." Said Samuel simply. "I don't like that doctor Braginski… There's just something about him that's been bugging me for ages."

"That's what this guy's been saying!" Whined Kuma as he started to tug on the hem of Matthew's pants. "Why does no one listen to me? Pick me up. I want to see what's going on! I'm sorry I pushed you into what's his face! Forgive me! I'm too cute to be ignored!"

Matthew chose to ignore Kuma and instead nodded in agreement with his uncle. "Yeah… He scared me a lot."

"Sorry about that." Muttered Samuel. "I promise from now on I'll try to be a better guardian. You deserve better."

Matthew smiled a little. "It's okay. I know you were just trying your best to look after me. You did what you thought was best… Even if it didn't feel like the best thing to me. I know you were trying. We're the only family we have, so we have to stick together and do our best to make sure that we're both okay."

Samuel chuckled a little. "Sometimes when you talk, I swear you're channelling your grandmother's spirit or something… You sound just like her sometimes… Either that or your mother." This made Matthew smile a little. He hadn't known either woman for very long so it always felt nice when his uncle said that he acted like them in a positive way. It made him feel warm inside. A bit like he had actually achieved something, even if it didn't really matter that much.

"I wish I knew them better." Said Matthew quietly.

Samuel smiled a little. "Me too…"

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat:** Good fucking job Gilbert… He finally grew a pair and told Matthew the truth… Please review.


	15. School

**Shinigami-cat: **And now that Gilbert has confessed, how will things turn out? Well, knowing me it's go well then fall apart then it will either become really romantic again or it will only be partially repaired. Either way it's going to be one hell of a ride… I OWN NOTHING!

**School**

_**SENT:**__ Gilbert  
__I confessed._

_**FROM: **__Francy pants  
__And?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__We're dating XD_

_**FROM: **__Francy pants  
__Wonderful! How far did you get? First base? Second? Third? A home run?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Very funny. We just kissed (no tongue) and we just hugged for a bit before I went home._

_**FROM: **__Francy pants  
__:( … Oh well. There's plenty of time for that later ;D_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__True, but we've just started dating. I'm not going to make him do anything like that for a long time… Even though I have seen him naked before._

_**FROM: **__Francy pants  
_… _Big or small?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Shut it Francis! That's none of your business… But if you must know he puts you to shame._

_**FROM: **__Francy pants  
__Holy crap D:_

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

It was another month before Matthew actually started to go back to school. When he did though, he looked much happier and that made Gilbert feel better too. He hadn't seen him so happy in ages. It still irked him that Matthew carried Kuma around in his backpack, but it made him happy so he didn't say much.

At the moment they were both sitting in a tree during a study period. Matthew had one extra one a week so he could catch up with what he had missed out on.

Gilbert smiled a little at his boyfriend. "So… are you doing alright?"

Matthew nodded, not looking up from the book he was currently reading. "Yeah, the teachers are really helpful and they've been doing the best they can so I don't get held back. With their help I might actually get above average grades."

"That's awesome, Birdie!" Said Gilbert with a grin. "Are you sleeping properly yet?"

Matthew sighed a little. "No… I haven't slept in three days. Even though my nightmares have gotten better I just have this feeling it's still out there and trying to lull me into a false sense of security before it tries to murder me again… I can't help it that I'm paranoid."

Gilbert shrugged. "Whatever. It's probably nothing."

"Probably… How did your assignment about the town go anyway?" Asked Matthew curiously.

"I got a C." Said Gilbert casually. "Apparently I got information from unreliable sources and researched inappropriate things. But that dick weed had to give me points for naming some actual events that happened."

"… You said you were going to tell me about the morgue." Said Matthew quietly. "Did you find anything?"

A small frown crossed Gilbert's mouth. He wanted to tell Matthew what he found out, but at the same time he didn't feel like it was a good idea. "There was a fire… and a suicide… After that a morgue in Rivertown opened and your house was built around the old morgue… That's all I know."

Matthew frowned a little. "I see… I wonder why they just built around it and didn't rip it down… That would have made more sense."

"Probably couldn't afford it." Said Gilbert quietly. "That's just how it is sometimes… It's cheaper to build around it than to knock it down. That's just how things work sometimes." Matthew shrugged a little and went back to reading his book.

Gilbert sighed a little and closed his eyes. Letting breeze fly through his hair. '_At least he didn't ask about what else I looked at on that assignment… I don't know what he would think if he found out about that weird ghost girl thingy._'

"Yeah?"

Gilbert opened one eye and looked at Matthew. "What?"

Matthew frowned a little, tilting his head to the side. "Didn't you just say my name?"

"No."

"Oh… Must have imagined it…" He looked down at his book again, but would occasionally look up towards the forest. He looked a little nervous. It was worrying. Even though Matthew had recovered a fair bit he was still scared senseless about the idea of setting foot in that place. "… I still have nightmares about that place."

This made Gilbert frown. "Oh… Still just walking around?"

"Sometimes." Said Matthew quietly. "Sometimes I'll be running away from something that I can't see… It's not the same thing as 'it' though… and sometimes I'll be chasing after someone. I'll be screaming their name, but they don't hear me and I can't remember their name when I wake up… It honestly makes me sick at heart… I almost vomit when I have one of those dreams I'm so stressed."

Gilbert frowned a little. "Well… I guess you're getting better. I mean you aren't dreaming the same thing over and over again. You're dreaming different things. They aren't pleasant things, but they are still different. That must feel good right?"

"I guess so…" Said Matthew quietly. He sighed a little and jumped out of the tree. "Well… I guess I'd better get my books for the next class."

"What do you have?" Asked Gilbert before he jumped out of the tree.

"Art." Said Matthew with a small smile. "You?"

"Geography." Said Gilbert miserably. "Well, at least we're watching a movie… Some crap about erosion and stuff or deforestation."

Matthew chuckled a little and walked back to the school building. "Well have fun with that."

"I will." Said Gilbert with a small smile.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Geography was as boring as hell. Even worse they were looking at some movie about bogs and swamps. He didn't particularly care too much about it. It just sounded so boring to him. He found it hard to concentrate. His mind was no Matthew. He was still worried about him. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself that nothing was wrong it didn't work.

'_Damn it… I should be happy for him, but I feel like something's going to happen damn it…_' He slumped against the desk and sighed. Everything was just too hard to deal with. '_Fucking damn it… It's almost like I don't want him to be better… Fucking hell I'm a horrible person! This is bullshit! Fucking hell! Fuck fucking fuck!_'

He sighed a little and looked up at the movie. There was some bullshit about people that got lost in swamps and will o the wisp's. It was a relatively short section so he didn't catch most of what was being said. All the caught were something along the lines of will o the wisp's being the 'spirit lights' of people that got lost and died in the swamps. Then it went on to how swamps can preserve bodies and stuff. It was all interesting, but he didn't give two fucks about it.

He just tuned out everything and let his eyes drift over to a crack in the window. From there he could just make out a slither of playground and part of the forest. He frowned a little. He could see how someone could possibly mistake the shadows for a tall person, but at the same time it just seemed stupid. His mind was just working over time.

Gilbert sighed sadly and pressed his forehead against the desk. He couldn't help but feel a heavy weight in his chest. '_Damn it… all this worry won't help me at all… I need to relax… Damn it. Why do I continuously feel like there's something crushing my lungs. It's hard to breathe…_'

The bell went and everyone got their books. Gilbert was a little slower to get up than usual. He just suddenly felt very sluggish and dizzy. Without another word or thought, Gilbert collapsed.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

It only seemed like seconds, but in reality it was probably a lot longer, Gilbert opened his eyes slowly and looked up at the cream coloured roof of the nurses office. '_… The fuck just happened?_'

He looked over to the side and saw, Matthew was sitting in a chair next to him. He was reading. "W-what happened?"

As soon as Gilbert spoke, Matthew looked up and smiled. "You had a fever and collapsed. You should have said something Earlier if you weren't feeling well."

"Oh… I didn't know…" Muttered Gilbert tiredly. He slowly sat up and yawned a little. "Didn't really feel like a cold at all to me… I just felt dizzy and then… I'm back here… Oh well. I feel a lot better now."

Matthew smiled a little. "That's because Kuma's been sitting next to you the whole time. He's like a good luck charm when it comes to illness. I haven't ever gotten colds or fevers or anything like that when I have him around and if I'm just a little sick and hold him close I always feel better."

"I see." Said Gilbert. He looked down at the toy placed on his lap. Kuma's black, plastic eyes were looking right up at him. He picked up the bear and frowned a little. "So… was he in your locker or something?"

"Yeah…" Said Matthew quietly. He kind of looked a little ashamed that he still carried the bear around with him. "I actually keep him in my bag and take him to classes with me. If you're not around I don't feel too safe so I keep him with me… Sorry if it sounds too weird…"

Gilbert smiled a little and gently patted Matthew's head. "It's fine Birdie. You did good." A blush quickly spread across the blonds face, making Gilbert grin from ear to ear. "What time is it anyway?"

"A-about four o'clock." Said Matthew. "I-I didn't want to leave you alone so your grandfather said he would take me home when you woke up and he called my uncle and told him what happened s-so no one's going to g-get in trouble…" He looked very nervous.

This made Gilbert grin happily. He picked up Kuma and gave it back to Matthew. "Here. You get really nervous when you aren't holding him don't you?"

"Y-yeah…" Matthew reached out and took the toy in his arms, smiling a little. "Are you sure you're feeling better? Y-you did faint and hit your head a-and-"

Gilbert quickly cut him off with a kiss, causing Matthew to blush darkly. This just made Gilbert chuckle. "Calm down. I'm fine, I just feel a little thirsty. That's about it."

"D-do you want me to get you something to drink?" Asked Matthew quickly. "I-I can go and find something!"

"It's fine Birdie." Said Gilbert softly, patting his head. "I don't need to drink something right now… Maybe a little later, but not right now. I'm happy just being here with you." Matthew smiled a little and buried his face into Kuma's fur. He just looked too adorable. "You're too cute sometimes Birdie."

This made the blond giggle a little. If he got anymore adorable, Gilbert might explode. "Should we tell your grandpa that you're awake now? He'll probably still be in his office…"

Gilbert nodded and got out of the bed. "Ja, just let me get my bag first."

"You don't have to I got it." Said Matthew. He quickly picked up Gilbert's bag, smiling a little.

"… How did you get that?" Asked Gilbert. "My locker has a combination."

Matthew shrugged. "You didn't lock it properly. All I had to do was tug on it and it fell into my hand."

"Oh… Okay I guess that makes sense." Not really. Gilbert always made sure that his locker was locked after he used it. The last time he didn't lock it properly some asshole thought that hiding his stuff in a tree would be a funny prank. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and sighed. "Okay, Birdie, let's go."

Matthew smiled brightly and grabbed his backpack. "Okay." They both walked up to Gilbert's grandpa's office, hand in hand. It was comforting for the both of them. They both seemed to feel relaxed like this. As if all the tension was gone from their bodies.

'_Maybe I'm think too much about this…_' Wondered Gilbert quietly to himself. '_Birdie probably cracked my lock or asked Francis or Antonio what it was… That sounds about right… If either of them knew what it was… I'm getting paranoid again._'

"Are you okay Gilbert?" Asked Matthew. "You seem a little distracted…"

Gilbert smiled happily at Matthew. There was no reason to upset him with his thoughts. It wasn't necessary. "Just hoping that you really are adjusting back to school as easily as you say you are. It's always hard to tell with you because you always bottle things up until you just explode."

"I-I understand." Said Matthew quietly. "But I really am doing okay. I don't mind that people are leaving me alone because they think I'm weird, it just means it'll be easier for me to catch up with the work I missed." He smiled a little. "But it's mainly writing papers and stuff. You helped me a lot with the basic stuff… Thank you."

"You don't need to keep thanking me." Said Gilbert. "I wanted to help you." He sneezed a little. "Maybe I should stay home tomorrow…"

"Well, if you're still sick you should." Said Matthew quietly. "I don't want you to get sick."

Gilbert chuckled a little and ruffled Matthew's hair. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… yep that's all I got for now… please review.


	16. Mild Madness

**Shinigami-cat: **Sorry that it's taken me a while to write this chapter. I've been getting ready for school and stuff, so yeah… And so the story continues… I OWN NOTHING!

**Mild Madness**

His dreams, just like all the others were starting how they always did; all alone in the middle of the forest with an oil lamp. With a sad sigh, Matthew started his walk all over again. He was less terrified of those walks now, but there was still the feeling that something could still be following him. Who was he kidding? He knew he was being followed, but whatever it was seemed to be losing interest in him. He didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

He slowly trudged through the mud, much thicker than usual. It was almost as if the blood was finally soaking into the ground instead of sitting as a big soupy mess on the top. It still sent shivers down his spine.

'_Why does it feel so cold here?_' He wondered. '_It's never been this cold before…_' Shrugging it off as paranoia he continued to walk aimlessly around until he came across something he hadn't come across before. A river. Frowning slightly, he approached the black water and looked into it. The surface was shiny and black. It looked like a solid, but he knew it was a liquid. He wanted to cross it.

A large lily pad floated down the river, stopping in front of him. Matthew was hesitant at first. New things in his dreams were always a cause for alarm, but he didn't mind too much. He hadn't been attacked in his dreams for about a month now. He didn't see the harm. He stepped onto the lily pad and sat down. Almost immediately it started to slowly drift down the river again.

It was a little creepy, but for some reason he liked it. It was different. Different was good… Sometimes. He closed his eyes a little and sighed happily. It was oddly calming to be here, floating across the black water. '_I wonder where this is going? Does it really matter? Probably not…_'

After a while the lily pad stopped by the side of the river. Matthew wasn't sure if he wanted to get off just yet. He sat there for a little while, seeing if the lily pad would move again. He looked around the trees a little. In the distance he could see something moving. It looked like a white smoke ghost of some sort. It was getting closer.

Matthew gulped a little, not of what to make of it. He wasn't sure if it was friend or foe, but it seemed friendly enough. It didn't seem to want to hurt him so he didn't panic too much. He just watched it curiously as it got closer and closer until it was standing over him, right on the edge of the river.

'… _Is it going to keep looking at me?_' Wondered Matthew to himself. '_Is it even looking at me? Should I just try to run? I have no idea…_' Not knowing what to do, he moved over to make room for the strange ghost creature. It was different from the other things in his dreams. It seemed calmer and less aggressive, so he didn't see any reason to not trust it.

The ghost creature seemed to hesitate a little, but sat down on the lily pad, as far away from Matthew. As soon as it sat down the lily pad started moving. Him and the smoke creature. Together down the river on the giant lily pad. It was a little creepy and a little disturbing, but at the same it was kind of nice.

Eventually the lake branched off into a large lake and stopped right in the middle of it. It made Matthew shudder horribly. '_I don't like this… I feel like there's something watching me… and I don't mean the weird ghost thingy…_' There was a small splashing noise that made Matthew jumps and turn around. He could see ripples in the water where something had moved.

Matthew gulped and his heart began to race. "W-what was that?" He whimpered. There was another splashing noise behind him. Matthew gasped a little and jumped into the middle of the lily pad. He didn't care if he was close to the weird ghost creature. He wanted to get the hell away from whatever was in the water.

He looked over at the ghost thing and gulped. It was leaning over the edge of the lily pad, like it was trying to see what was in it. In an instant the woman with the scissor hands jumped out and pulled the white ghost into the water. Matthew screamed in shock as the white ghost thrashed around, trying to pull itself back out, but the creature wouldn't let it. Instead it just grinned and kept pulling it down until the water went still again.

Matthew was shaking horribly. '_W-what happened? It can swim? Oh damn it… It's still down there isn't it? This was a trap? What the hell? I-I wish I could just wake up! I want to be with Gilbert! I want to get out of this nightmare! Why is this happening to me?_'

Suddenly a knife pierced the lily pad and cut off part of it. Matthew screamed as his only transportation was ripped to shreds in a ghoulish and horrific manner until he was standing on a tiny little speck of floating material. It was then that the creature jumped up and wrapped its knife hands around Matthew's hips and pulled him down into the black water.

It was black. All black. He couldn't see anything, but he could feel the knives digging into his stomach. The soft flesh cut away like butter as the blades ran through him. The water slowly turned to red. Matthew struggled to get out of the creatures grip. He knew it was pointless, but he wanted, needed, to fight his way out of the creature's arms. He didn't care if he was ripped apart he just needed to get away from it.

He felt something hard tapping the bones in his spine and froze. '_It's over…_' He felt the creature jerk back and rip out his spinal cord. Matthew's vision went red.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Matthew quickly sat up in his bead gasping for air. He still felt like he was drowning. He shivered horribly and clutched Kuma tight to his chest. His lower back hurt so badly. '_Damn it… if this keeps up I might just go crazy again… I hate these dreams…_' He turned on a lamp and picked up his diary. He wanted to write a little about what he had experienced.

_Dear Diary  
__It happened again. Another nightmare. Most of them have become tamer but they are still terrifying. I feel terrible for not telling anyone the truth… My nightmares have gotten worse. Okay It's weird when I say that they are tamer but they are worse… I'll try to explain. They are better because they aren't always horrible, but they are worse because when they are scary it's a hundred times more vivid and violent. I used to be able to wake up just when the knives cut my skin but now it's taking longer and longer to wake up. I'm scared._

He put down his pen and sighed a little. "This sucks…"

"Don't be upset with yourself." Said Kuma. He was gently patting Matthew's hand to comfort him. "You can't control your dreams. They just happen. Do they scare you or something?"

"Of course they scare me." Said Matthew quietly. "I almost always die in them. I'm always afraid that one day it won't be a dream and I'll really be… I just don't want to think about it."

Kuma nodded in agreement and licked Matthew's hand. "You need to get up and go to school anyway. Go eat something, have a shower or whatever you do to get ready for school and I'll get your bag ready."

Matthew was too tired to argue so he got up and trudged to the kitchen. His morning routine started off the same as always; get up, eat and if there was time to have a quick shower he would take it. If not he would just comb his hair and get dressed for school. When he got to the kitchen he looked out the window and sighed a little. It was lightly raining.

"I guess I'll need an umbrella today…" Muttered Matthew as he turned on the jug. Sometimes he would make coffee for his uncle if he hadn't woken up, like today. A few moments later his uncle came out, yawning.

"Morning, Mattie." He muttered a little.

Matthew smiled happily at his uncle as he put some bread in the toaster. "Morning. Want any milk or sugar in your coffee today?"

Samuel shook his head. "I'm fine with just black coffee in the morning. It's the only way to wake me up."

Matthew nodded and made Samuel his coffee while waiting for his toast to pop. He didn't have to wait very long. Just a few moments later it popped and Matthew covered it with strawberry jam. "Do you want anything?"

"I'm fine with my coffee for now." Said Samuel happily. He drank a mouthful of his coffee. "Want me to drive you to school today?"

"I'll be fine with an umbrella." Said Matthew happily. He quickly ate his toast and went back to his room to get dressed for school. When he got back, Kuma was already sitting on the bed with Matthew's bag. "Thanks Kuma."

"No problem." Said Kuma as he crawled into Matthew's bag. "Let's go!"

Matthew chuckled a little and went to grab some clothes. "In a second…" He quickly got dressed in a pair of jeans, a Green Day's T-shirt and a jacket. Satisfied with his clothing choice he grabbed his bag and an umbrella. He quickly walked to the door, waving a quick goodbye to his uncle along the way. It was a little refreshing to have a bit of rain.

He put his umbrella up and started to walk to the school. He wasn't sure if Gilbert would be going today, since he had been sick the other. Though he really hoped that he would be there today. He just felt a little better knowing that Gilbert was around.

He sighed a little and just kept walking, listening to the soft sound of his feet hitting the wet earth. There weren't many people around, so it was fine. He stood on the corner of a street and waited. He would usually meet Gilbert around there. If Gilbert was catching a ride to school he would have called already. He didn't mind waiting a bit. '_Today's surprisingly nice today… I like it._'

He sighed a little and closed his eyes, letting the sound of the rain fill his ears. It was mildly relaxing. "Hey Birdie! Good morning!" Called Gilbert happily as he walked down the sidewalk. When he got close to Matthew though, he frowned. "You okay? You look like shit this morning."

Matthew frowned a little. "I um… I had a bad dream last night. That's all. Nothing special…"

This made Gilbert frown. "What about? Will you be okay?"

"Of course I will." Said Matthew sternly. "My dreams scare me, but they aren't something that stops me from doing what I need to do anymore. I've changed… But are you okay? You were sick and stuff yesterday."

"I'm fine now." Said Gilbert with a grin. "Must have been some shitty twenty four hour virus or something. I'm a okay!"

"That's good." Said Matthew happily. "Let's get going already… Didn't the homeroom teacher say he'll give you a detention if you turn up late again."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Oh come on… So I haven't turned up on time to one of those stupid things all year. Who gives a shit? It's just where they check attendance and tell people if there are any room changes. Every teacher checks who's there at the beginning of ever class and people tell each other where our class is so homeroom is redundant."

"If you say so." Said Matthew.

As they started to walk to school they talked about random things, but something was starting to annoy the blond a little. There was someone walking close behind them. He hadn't turned his head, but he could hear a third set of footsteps mixing with theirs. Out of frustration, Matthew quickly looked over his shoulder to see who it was and felt his blood run cold. There was no one there. They were the only ones walking down that street. '_That can't be right… I heard someone… I can hear someone following us… What the hell is wrong with me?_'

"Hey are you okay Birdie?" Asked Gilbert. "You seem a little jumpy."

Matthew chuckled a little and nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I-I guess my dream freaked me out a little more than I thought."

"What was it about?"

"… Floating down the river on a giant lily pad with a ghost."

Gilbert frowned a little. "That's weird… I had a similar dream last night… But I ended up drowning. Dreams are weird."

"That they are…" Muttered Matthew quietly. It was odd that Gilbert had a similar dream, almost impossible for something like that to happen. But if they were worried about similar things it was always possible that they could have similar dreams. With no real elaboration other than the floating on a lily pad down a river, Matthew could only assume that they were the only similarities that they shared. He sighed a little. "Over thinking…"

"What was that Birdie?"

Matthew blushed a little as they walked through the school gate. "Nothing… Oh maple here comes Liz…"

Sure enough Elizaveta was quickly running towards them and jumped in a puddle next to Gilbert, soaking the bottom half of his pants in water. "What the fuck you bitch?"

"Shut the fuck up, you boy toy fuck toy!" Snapped the angry brunet. "You're lucky I don't shove your umbrella up your ass! You're an asshole and a dipshit you fucking man whore!"

"What has your panties in a knot?" Growled Gilbert. "Had to use couch stuffing as a tampon again you skanky PMSing cunt bag bitch?"

That comment earned Gilbert a swift uppercut and a possible fractured jaw. "Speak to me like that again and I'll cut your dick off so you can go fuck yourself! You fucking liked to me you motherfucking cunt!"

"What the fuck did I lie to you about?" Hissed Gilbert as he rubbed his aching jaw.

"You fucking said that you and Matthew were going to turn up and play with my band yesterday!" She growled furiously. "I fucking texted you during lunch you dick muncher!"

"I fucking fainted second last period you bitch!" Snapped Gilbert. "I don't even remember getting your fucking text!" He pulled his phone out of his pocket and gulped a little. "Oops…"

"Oops?" Hisses Liz. "All you can fucking say is 'Oops'?" She looked like she was about to blow a fuse. Matthew decided it was about time to step in and save his boyfriend from getting his ass kicked by a girl. Gilbert's ego would be severally damaged by that.

Matthew quickly grabbed Elizaveta's arm before she could punch Gilbert's light's out. "Sorry about that Liz, Gil was really sick. He didn't get up until four after he fainted. I don't think he would have been any good at playing any instrument… So let's just calm down and go inside or something."

Elizaveta's eyes softened a little and she sighed. "Yeah… I guess you're right…" She chuckled a little. "Besides it would be pretty pathetic for your boyfriend to watch you get the shit beaten out of you by a girl."

"Shut up!" Snapped Gilbert. "If I recall you thought you were a boy before you hit puberty!"

Elizaveta's smirk turned into a dangerous grin. "Care to repeat that Gilly? I really hope you make the smart choice here…"

Before Gilbert could snap at her, Matthew quickly cupped his hand over his boyfriend's mouth. "He's got nothing to say… Later Liz. Nice talking to you…" He quickly pulled Gilbert into the school building and sighed. "Why do you two keep rubbing each other the wrong way?"

"I guess it's because we've known each other for a long time…" Muttered Gilbert. He touched his jaw and flinched a little. "Shit, does it look swollen?"

Matthew frowned a little and gently touched Gilbert's jaw. "A little… Does it hurt too much?"

"Not really… I think it's getting better actually." Mused Gilbert. "You have the touch of an angel Birdie."

Matthew blushed a little and quickly moved his hand away. "W-we s-should get to class…" Gilbert chuckled and wrapped his arm around Matthew's shoulders as the pair walked to class.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **So there it is… Hope you all liked that… Please review!


	17. Bruises

**Shinigami-cat: **Well here's the nothing more I can really say here… I OWN NOTHING!

**Bruises**

It rained for pretty much the rest of the day, it was light rain, but still rain none the less. Gilbert sighed a little as he leaned back in his chair. He was failing maths anyway, so he didn't really bother to pay much attention. He was more interested in the light throbbing sensation in his jaw. Elizaveta had one hell of a right arm.

He was just a little surprised that she didn't hit him harder. His face would usually be aching for hours, but today it didn't really feel like anything. '_Huh… Birdie really does have the touch of an angel…_'

"Hey, Gil. Pay attention amigo." Whispered Antonio.

Gilbert looked over at Antonio, then back to the board. It was practically covered in notes and solving that he didn't understand at all. "Oh… I'm failing anyway so it doesn't matter."

Antonio shook his head a little. "That's not good… Want me to help you out with what you don't understand?" Despite popular belief, Antonio was actually really smart. He could solve problems with ease, but it all depended on how the problems were worded. Francis theorized that Antonio is so smart that he did a full circle so he only appears borderline retarded when he's really smart.

"No thanks…" Sighed Gilbert. "I'll figure it out later… What do we have next?"

"PE." Said Antonio. He sighed a little. "I guess we'll be watching a movie or something today… too wet."

This made Gilbert frown a little, but it quickly turned into a smile. "Birdie's in our class isn't he?"

Antonio chuckled a little. "Going to perve on him while he gets changed are you?"

"Huh? No!" Snapped Gilbert, his face turning a subtle shade of red. He was actually just happy that they were going to have a class together, though now thinks to Antonio all he could think about was seeing his boyfriend naked. He groaned and slammed his head against the table. He had seen Matthew naked plenty of times before, but it was more of an innocent thing than anything sexual. "I hate you so much right now Antonio… I will punch you in the throat…"

Antonio chuckled a little and poked Gilbert's cheek with his pencil. "You don't mean that, you're just fantasizing about your boyfriend and trying to hide your blush."

Gilbert growled a little, several less than innocent images of Matthew were slow dancing through his head, sending blood rushing down south. '_Think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts. Think unsexy thoughts. Dead puppies, horror movies, dead kittens, old people, fat people in speedos… Dead, fat old people in speedos… Okay I'm good… Stupid sexy Matthew._'

"… Is it just me or is it a little cold in here?" Asked Gilbert, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"The heater is on." Deadpanned Antonio. "Are you feeling sick or something?"

"… A little." Muttered Gilbert. "I did get a fever and faint yesterday."

"Oh yeah… Are you sure you should be here today?"

"I'm fine. It was just a twenty four hour thing." Gilbert sighed a little and looked out the window. It was still raining. "… Do you think the rain will go away eventually or will it just stay like this for a few days?"

Antonio shrugged. "Maybe… It usually rains for one or two days here. Hey this period's almost over."

Gilbert glanced up at the clock and smiled. They had about three minutes left, which meant that no one was going to pay attention to the teacher anymore and instead turned to packing away and talking at each other. "Awesome."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Gilbert and Antonio practically bolted out of their classroom to get to the change rooms. This was mainly because the damn gym was on the other side of the school, plus they wanted to meet up with Francis or at least change before him. That damn Frenchman had wandering hands.

Luckily or unluckily for them, Francis was already changed by the time they got there and was waiting for them in the change room. "You two take forever." He half-heartedly whined.

"Don't blame us." Muttered Gilbert. "Balm the retard who thought it was a good idea to have general maths right before PE."

"So, we're blaming your grandpa?" Asked Antonio. "He is the vice principle after all and he makes the timetables."

"… Yep. Where's Birdie?" Asked Gilbert curiously. He was a little surprised he hadn't seen the blond around. But as soon as the words left his lips Matthew walked in and smiled a little.

"Hi…"

Gilbert grinned and wrapped an arm around Matthew's shoulders. "Hey, what's up Birdie? Today treating you well?"

Matthew blushed a little and nodded. "Yeah… I'm going to change in one of the stalls…" He turned and quickly started to walk away, but Francis grabbed his shoulder.

"We're all boys here Matthew." He purred. "There's no need to be ashamed of your body."

Gilbert delivered a swift karate chop between Francis's shoulder blades. "Hands off French fry! He's not yours!"

Francis pouted and hid behind a now shirtless Antonio. "Gilbert's being mean to me! Protect me!"

"You got yourself into this, you get yourself out." Said Antonio with a chuckle.

Gilbert grinned evilly. "That's right! Touch my Birdie again and I'll crack your nuts! Isn't that right Birdie? … Birdie?" Gilbert turned around just in time to see Matthew disappear into one of the change stalls. "Well… Okay then."

It didn't take long for Antonio and Gilbert to change but Matthew was taking forever. Francis sighed and knocked on the door. "Come on Matthew, we need to get going or the coach will make us do laps in the rain again."

"I-I'll be out in a minute!" Cried Matthew. "J-just go ahead without me…"

The trio looked at each other in slight confusion. But Gilbert quickly shrugged it off. "You two go on ahead. Just tell coach we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay, see you guys there." Said Antonio. He and Francis walked out, leaving Gilbert and Matthew alone.

The albino sighed a little and knocked on the door. "Hey Birdie, it's just us now… So what's up?"

Matthew sighed a little. "… I um…" He mumbled the last part so Gilbert couldn't hear him.

"Sorry I didn't catch that last part." Said Gilbert. "What's wrong?"

"My lower back is killing me okay." Muttered Matthew. "It's felt a little weird all day and it hurts to sit down and bend over and stuff…"

Gilbert frowned a little. "Does that mean you can't change into your gym clothes?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes." Gilbert sighed a little. "Do you want me to help?" After a few moments Matthew unlocked the door, his face was bright red and looked a little ashamed. Gilbert just smiled at him kindly. "Come on Birdie, it's no different from what I would usually do for you… At least you got your shirt on alright."

Matthew's blush got darker, if that was even possible. "J-just please don't say that and just help me… please…" Gilbert chuckled a little and stepped into the stall with Matthew and closed the door. "Why did you close the door?"

"If someone walks in, I think they would find it a little odd that I'm pulling down your pants." Said Gilbert simply. "Plus I don't need something else to fuck up my permanent record."

Matthew nodded a little and turned around, he didn't seem too comfortable to be facing Gilbert at the moment. "Yeah… I heard you smashed a bunch of windows, hurt a few people and poured acid everywhere… You went to juvenile detention for it but you got out about a week before I got out of the asylum… What happened?"

Gilbert shrugged. "I honestly don't remember it at all. It's all a blur… If my grandpa wasn't the vice principle I don't think I would have been allowed back here… I'd have to go to Rivertown or something." He pulled down Matthew's pants, frowning a little. "Do you think you should be doing PE if you can't move that well?"

"I'll be fine." Said Matthew quietly, stepping out of his pants. "It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal." Said Gilbert sternly. "You need to look after yourself. You might have strained or pulled something… It isn't good and I don't want you to get hurt more than you already are…" He caught a glimpse of something dark under Matthews shirt and frowned a little. He pulled up the back of Matthew's shirt and gasped in shock. "Birdie… what the hell happened to you?"

All along Matthew's spine (at least as far as Gilbert could see) were dark purple, almost black golf ball sized bruises down his spine. They led down to a large oddly shaped bruise down around his lower back. It looked like Matthew had been in some kind of horrible accident. At least this explained why his back was hurting so much.

"What do you mean?" Asked Matthew curiously.

"I-it looks like you've been beaten or something." Said Gilbert in shock. "What happened? How the hell did this happen? Did someone beat you up or something? You have bruises all along your spine…" Matthew was quiet. He seemed to be frozen on the spot. "Birdie, who did this to you?"

"… No one…" His voice sounded distant, like he wasn't really there. Although he physically was, his mind just wasn't. "I'm just clumsy… I fell over… I should go to the nurses office…"

Gilbert frowned and pulled his boyfriend's pants back up. "Birdie, you seriously have to tell me what happened… Did your uncle-"

"No." Snapped Matthew quickly. "He didn't do this, it was… I have to go now." He quickly opened the stall door and walked out of the change room. Gilbert frowned a little and sighed sadly. Something was up and whatever it was it was scaring Matthew.

Gilbert bit his lip and quickly followed him. He didn't really care if he missed out on PE, he just wanted to make sure that Matthew was okay. '_Seriously, what's up with him?_'

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Unable to find Matthew after half an hour he had to settle with texting him.

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Birdie, where are you?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__The nurse called my uncle and sent me home. I'm at the doctors at the moment. They want me to get scans._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__WHAT?! D:_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Just kidding. They just looked me over and gave me a prescription for some powerful pain killers. I'll be fine._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Don't scare me like that! But seriously what happened? How did you get those bruises?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Does it really matter? It's just bruises._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Of course it matters! They obviously aren't just bruises! They were all the way down your back! Someone obviously did that to you, so please just tell me what happened!_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Please… Just drop it. It doesn't matter. Just forget about it. I don't want to talk about it. I'm not worried about it._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Why are you lying to me? Is what happened really that horrible? I love you, Matthew. You're my best friend and my boyfriend. If something happened to you, you need to tell me about it so I can help you._

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__It's my problem. I'll deal with it. I can't keep relying on you forever._

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

After school, Gilbert had tried to see Matthew, but his uncle wouldn't let him in the house. It was bullshit but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Instead he had to go home, which wasn't so bad, but his mind was constantly on the horrible markings on Matthew's back.

'_Why did he look so surprised?_' He thought to himself. '_It was like he didn't know that he was injured at all… What could have happened to him? I don't understand at all…_'

He pushed open the front door and leaned his umbrella against the wall. "Hey, I'm home… You here Luddy?" With no response, Gilbert decided to have a quick look around the house. It didn't take him too long to find Ludwig though, he was in the kitchen, leaning over the sink. He didn't look too good. "What's wrong, Ludwig?" Asked Gilbert, slightly concerned. "You seem a little… Off?"

Ludwig jumped. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Gilbert grinned and messed up his brother's hair. "Come on, what's up? You look stressed or sick or something."

"Gilbert…" Muttered Ludwig. He looked like he was physically ill. This really concerned Gilbert. He had no idea what was making his brother act this way, but he needed to find out. If he was something physically wrong with him seeing a doctor was no problem but if it was something else, it had to be something horrible. Really horrible.

"Seriously Luddy, you need to tell me what's wrong."

Ludwig nervously bit his bottom lip and frowned. "I got a call to day…"

"And?"

"They are coming back." Muttered Ludwig slowly. From the way he said it, Gilbert could feel his blood starting to freeze in his veins.

"As in…" He gulped a little. "How long will they be staying here?"

"About a week." Said Ludwig quietly. "Maybe you should over at Antonio's or Francis's when they come over… They always cause trouble."

"For me." Muttered Gilbert. "They love you. You were planned. You weren't the genetic throw back. You're the golden child… They hate me. I'm a fucking disgrace to them. To them I would be better off dead."

Ludwig sighed a little. "Gilbert… They don't hate you… They just…"

"Hate me." Spat Gilbert. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed a little. "I guess I'll ask around and see what happens… I really don't want to be here when those bastards show up again."

"… You shouldn't talk about our parents like that."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **And now there's more drama! We will eventually meet Gilbert and Ludwig's parent and Matthew's got massive bruises! Until then, please review.


	18. Families Past

**Shinigami-cat: **Okay in this chapter we see a little bit of what's going on via Samuel's perspective. Exciting… I OWN NOTHING!

**Families Past **

Matthew was freaking out. He couldn't believe what was happening to him. '_It ripped out my spine in my dream and now I have bruises all down my back… Why is this happening? Why does it want to kill me?_' He downed some painkillers and sat on his bed, holding Kuma close. '_What the hell is going on? Just why? Why is this happening again?_'

He shivered at the thought. Similar things had happened to him before in the past, but they were nothing more than small scratches. Whatever was out there really wanted him dead. "What should I do Kuma?"

Kuma shrugged. "You should tell Gilbert the truth."

"He didn't believe me before when I said it was attacking me in my sleep." Muttered Matthew. "What chance do I have of him believing me now?" He felt his heart growing heavy in his chest. He always knew when Gilbert was lying to him and saying he believed him when he obviously didn't. It hurt, but it was the truth. He just tried to pretend he really did believe him.

"How about you sleep with him?" Suggested Kuma.

Matthew's face went bright red. "Eh? How will sex solve anything?"

Kuma looked up at Matthew, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "Sex? What are you talking about? I meant both of you asleep in the same bed with none of the interment touches… I mean you can if you want, but I just meant sleeping. With dreams and such."

Matthew felt even more embarrassed than before. "Oh… Be more specific next time!"

"I was being specific." Said Kuma happily. "You're just being perverted."

"I'm not a pervert!" Snapped Matthew quickly.

"You're a teenage boy with raging hormones." Said Kuma. "Of course you are a pervert. You think more with your dick than with your brain. Teenage girls are similar, but they think more about clothes and hot boys… You just think about Gilbert and how hot he is."

Matthew shook his head and sighed in frustration. His bear would be the death of him. '_Why is Kuma always like this? It's so frustrating…_'

Kuma squirmed out of Matthew's arms and happily started to tug at Matthew's shirt. "Now… about my plan… If you don't like plan A, which is him sleeping with you, try plan B."

"Which is?" In truth, Matthew was kind of dreading the answer.

Kuma grinned and wiggled his tail. "Record yourself sleeping and give it to Gilbert. That way he will know you're telling the truth."

"But how can face him after everything that happened?" Asked Matthew, sorrow laced his voice. "I told him it was nothing and I pushed him away… He's probably worried sick about me and I pushed him away… He probably doesn't want to speak to me again."

"Don't be dumb." Snapped Kuma. "He loves you and you love him. Pull your head out of your ass and at least call him. Stop being selfish and stupid. Call him now." The little bear jumped off Matthew's lap and quickly grabbed Matthew's phone, throwing it at him. "Call. Now."

Tired of fighting, Matthew picked up his phone and quickly called Gilbert up. "Hey, Gil…"

"Birdie! Are you okay?" Asked Gilbert. He sounded really worried.

Matthew bit his bottom lip a little and nodded. "Yeah… I'm sorry about before. I was just… I was being stupid…"

"I'm the one that should be sorry." Said Gilbert quickly. "It's obvious that you aren't completely better and everything. I was just trying to help you, I swear!"

"I-it's okay." Said Matthew. "I'm just… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way. I was just afraid of what you would think if I told you the truth…"

"I would never think you were crazy or something like that… You can tell me anything, Birdie."

Matthew smiled a little. He knew that Gilbert would always listen to him. "Last night I… I had a nightmare… And 'It' attacked me in my sleep ripping out my spine and I think that's why I got those bruises… I know it sounds stupid but… I still think it wants me dead."

There was a short pause before Gilbert spoke again. He sounded a little frustrated. "Birdie… You can't keep using that as an excuse. If you're trying to hide something…"

"I'm not trying to hide anything!" Snapped Matthew. "I'm telling the truth! I dreamed that it ripped out my spine and that's how I got the bruises! If I was making this up don't you think I would try to make up something a little more believable?"

"…"

"That's what I thought." Muttered Matthew bitterly. "That's all I had to say. I might come to school tomorrow… Do you have anything to say or will we just leave it at that?"

"I'm sorry." Said Gilbert quietly. "I-I actually just need someone to talk to too… My parents are coming back for a while…"

Matthew could feel a small lump forming in his throat. Gilbert and his parents never saw eye to eye. Ever. His father was too strict and concerned with nothing but discipline and used the old fashioned methods for correcting a child's behaviour. Meaning corporal punishment. His mother on the other hand was a very vain woman who was concerned with nothing but herself. If Matthew remembered correctly she also had a very sharp tongue and equally sharp nails.

Because Gilbert could never sit still his father would discipline him a lot. He would often have bruises on his arms and legs from it. Also, since his mother was very self-obsessed and Gilbert liked to be the centre of attention they would often clash and end up shouting at each other until either the albino left the house or she would twist his arm and lock him in his room. Needless to say Gilbert was much happier when they weren't in his life.

"Oh… When are they getting here?" Asked Matthew. All pervious anger, no matter how trivial or mild, was gone and replaced with deep concern. He would always see the pain in Gilbert's eyes when they were around. Gilbert couldn't hide his true emotions from him.

"Sometime this week." Said Gilbert. "I… I don't want to see them. I'm going to see if I can stay at Antonio's or Francis's place until they leave. I don't understand why they don't just keep sending money and never come back. It would be easier. Ludwig and I are better off without them."

Matthew bit his lip a little. He didn't like it when people disrespected their parents, even if they did deserve it. "I understand… They must be difficult to live with."

"Yeah, it's a good thing they only come around once or twice a year… I don't remember the last time we had Christmas together or celebrated a birthday together…" He sounded depressed.

"… Do you want me to come over?" Asked Matthew quietly. He didn't like it when Gilbert sounded like this.

"It's late." Said Gilbert. "I know you don't like the dark… and it's okay. I might see you tomorrow, right?"

"I will see you tomorrow." Said Matthew quickly. "I want to talk to you about something important too if you don't mind… I want to do it in person. Not over the phone, if you don't mind."

"Of course Birdie." Said Gilbert. He sounded much better than he did a moment ago. "I got to go now, It's my turn to cook dinner tonight."

Matthew smiled a little. "What are you cooking?"

"I'm nuking some pasta." Said Gilbert happily. "Feli brought some over the other day and we still haven't finished it. If we don't eat it tonight it'll go to waste. Love you, Birdie."

"Love you too, Gilbert." He put his phone down and sighed a little. "At least he's not angry at me…"

"So did he agree to sleeping with you?" Asked Kuma excitedly.

Matthew blushed and little and laid down on his bed. "No Kuma… I didn't ask him if he wanted to… _sleep _with me… I'm just happy to know that he's not upset with me, but his parents are coming home so…"

Kuma huffed a little and sat next to Matthew's head. "You mean the muscle head and the bitchy skank?"

"Yeah…" He frowned a little. "I know they are horrible people, but I wish Gilbert could be happy that he at least has parents… I still wish I had mine…"

Kuma scooted a little closer to Matthew and pressed his paw against Matthew's cheek. "You parents would be proud of you. You're a strong and powerful individual who has had to face many challenges when you were young… You're still facing them now. They would be happy that you haven't let your anxiety get the better of you and let it consume your life."

Matthew gently patted Kuma's head. "I love you Kuma… You're like an older brother to me, or my spirit animal or something."

The little bear made a happy noise. "I love you too, whoever you are."

"My name is Matthew…" He took hold of the bear and held it close to his chest. "Why can't you remember my name?"

Kuma shrugged a little as he made himself comfortable against Matthew's chest. "I don't know. Who are you again?"

"Quiet now." Muttered the blond. He sighed a little and closed his eyes. He just wanted to sleep. Today had been stressful and he was willing to risk another nightmare to try and get some rest.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

The TV blared in the lounge room. It spouted random gibberish that Samuel didn't care to understand or bother to translate in his mind. All his concentration was focused on someone else. Matthew. He couldn't help but worry about the boy. He seemed like he was getting better, but then he suddenly got unexplained bruises all over his back that he refused to talk about.

"Damn it…" He muttered. "Maybe he takes after his grandmother after all… It would explain stuff. Then again I never believed that crap to begin with."

Matthew's grandmother was in all respect, crazy. She was one batty individual that would talk none stop about the supernatural and the macabre. Samuel clearly remembered her constantly cooking weird soups in the kitchen with different herbs, spices and ingredients that he couldn't even fathom at such a young age.

When his sister first got pregnant with Matthew, he remembered the woman started to make that damned polar bear. She would babble on and on about how her grandchild would need a protector to save him from all the evil of the world and a polar bear was just the creature to do it.

He was starting to think that the crazy gene had skipped a generation and passed onto Matthew, like a disease. "It's not fair." He muttered. "Why did he have to be like her? And that fucking albino just makes matters worse. I swear he fuels Matthew's delusions… Why is he so insistent on seeing him all the time? That shit just isn't natural."

Gilbert was another problem. The loud and obnoxious albino had always been Matthew's closest friend, even closer than his bear at times. He had to admit that Gilbert had been a pretty good friend to Matthew when they first moved here together, but stories about the albino's antics with his friends quickly spread. Back then they were known as the Bad Friend's Trio, now days it was the Bad Touch Trio. No one in their right mind would let their child hang around any of them.

'_But he isn't really my child is he?_' Though Samuel to himself. '_He's almost an adult… But he might be too traumatized to do anything with his life… I can't stay with him forever and eventually even that brat will leave and find someone to settle down with. I don't want to leave Matthew with nothing…_'

With that thought in mind, his thoughts drifted back to the asylum. He knew Matthew was miserable there, but at least there he could get round the clock care by people who knew what they were doing. That's what really mattered. But as quickly as the thought came to his mind he squashed it.

He didn't want Matthew to live in such a horrible place. Nothing was worth the look in the boy's eyes whenever Samuel came to visit him. It reminded him too much of his mother's last days before her heart just stopped beating. It was an empty look, like they had just given up and were ready to die. It was frightening to see that look in anyone's eyes.

Samuel gritted his teeth a little. Things were becoming more and more complicated in his mind. "Am I really supposed to believe those bruises were made by spirits? Ghosts and demons don't exist in real life… Only in children's stories… Why does he have to be so much like you, Jacqueline Marius?"

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Anyone remember me mentioning Jacqueline back in chapter 5? No? Go read it again if you don't… Please review!


	19. Breaking Point

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… Now time for more drama and stuff to happen that will make you cry… Probably not, but whatever… I OWN NOTHING!

**Breaking Point**

Today was Saturday. Matthew and Gilbert had agreed to meet at the town square. It wasn't much really, just a clock tower, a few benches and some bushes with native flowers. It wasn't anything to special, but it was still nice. Gilbert sighed a little as he leaned up against the clock tower, waiting for Matthew to turn up. '_Maybe it would be better if I just go to his place…_'

"Hey Gil." Said Matthew cheerfully. He was all smiles today, which made Gilbert feel a lot better.

"Hey Birdie." Said Gilbert. "What did you need to talk about?"

Matthew blushed a little. "W-well… I um… It's not really that um… It sounds really weird and kind of…" He gulped a little. "I want you to sleep with me."

Gilbert eyes went wide in shock and he was pretty sure his face went bright red. "Y-you wh-what?"

"N-not like that!" Said Matthew quickly, his face going equally red as Gilbert's. "I just mean that… that you d-did believe me about my bruises… K-Kuma thought th-that it m-might be only way you would… believe me…"

"It's okay." Chuckled Gilbert nervously. "You don't have to… It's fine. I understand where you're coming from, but… um…"

"I know. Stupid idea." Muttered Matthew. "Just forget it… How are you? Any more information on the parent issue?"

Gilbert frowned a little. As far as he knew they were coming back sometime today. At least that's what Ludwig had said to him. He still needed to find a place to stay for about a week. There was no way in hell he was going to stay in his house while they were there. "They are coming back today… Not sure when, but I know they are sometime… Francis and Antonio haven't gotten back to me yet. If all else fails I'm going camping."

Matthew visibly flinched at that statement. "Don't… You can stay at my place if you want… It's not ideal, but you can stay in the morgue… I'll make sure that my uncle doesn't find out."

"I think I'll be fine." Said Gilbert. In all honesty, he wasn't so sure anymore. It seemed like the world was against him sometimes.

"Sure?"

"Yeah… Is there something you want to do today?" Asked Gilbert. He really wanted to spend a day with his boyfriend.

The blond shook his head a little. "I'm sorry… I kind of snuck out again so… I have to get back before he notices I'm gone…"

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry… Maybe tomorrow or something?" Suggested Matthew quickly. He seemed really worried.

Gilbert smiled and patted Matthew's head. "It's fine… I should be getting back home too… I have no idea when parents are showing up and I don't want to leave Ludwig alone with them… Those people are animals."

"I see…" Matthew sighed a little. "Well, I guess I should go… Later Gil." He turned and started to make his way home. Gilbert shrugged a little and decided to make his way back too.

He walked over to the main road, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw a black Porsche drive by. Even through the black tinted windows, Gilbert could see a flash of red nails tapping impatiently against the passenger window. He felt sick. '_Damn it… They are back._'

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

It took Gilbert ten minutes to get home and another fifteen to work up the courage to go inside. He didn't want to go in there, but he couldn't leave his brother all alone with the bitch and the man with the world's shortest temper. He swallowed thickly and went inside.

"Hey, I'm home! Anyone here?" He called.

A few moments later Ludwig was in the hallway. He looked stressed out. "You talk to them while I make coffee. I can't deal with them… She got a boob job."

Gilbert shook his head. "Wonderful… I'll make small talk with them I guess…" He walked into the lounge room and looked over at the blond woman sitting on the lounge. She was wearing a black dress, black pumps and had her long hair out. Sitting next to her in an armchair was a man wearing a dark suit. Although he was a brunet his facial features were very similar to his brother's. These were his parents.

The woman looked up and smiled a little too sweetly at him. "Gilbert, how lovely of you to join us instead of running around like some sort of animal."

"… Nice to see you too, Mutter… Vater…" Mumbled Gilbert.

"Don't speak to her in that tone." Snapped his father. "Now, what have you been up to since we last saw you? Get into any more trouble with the police? Break anyone else's arms?"

"No." Growled Gilbert. The tension in the air was so thick it was almost suffocating.

His mother sighed a little, tapping her fingers against the arm of the lounge. "Sit next to me. I want to have a good look at you." Unable to go against her wishes, Gilbert reluctantly sat next to her. She cupped his face in her hands and frowned a little, running her fingers through his hair. "Let's see… You still look really sick… More sun would make you look much better."

"I'm albino. I just get sunburnt." Said Gilbert numbly. "I have to stay inside a lot or I'll get skin cancer and stuff."

"It would still be nice to see some colour in your cheeks." Snapped his mother. She pinched his cheeks painfully with her fingers. "Everything just always has to be about you doesn't it? You brat."

Gilbert growled and pushed her away. "Leave me alone. I'm not making this about me. I'm just telling you the facts."

His mother frowned a little and resumed tapping her nails against the arm of the lounge. "You always have to talk back to me you little punk. You belong back in prison."

"I was in juvenile detention." Snapped Gilbert.

"You're lucky we didn't disown you for that." Muttered his father. The comment hurt a little, but there was really nothing much he could do about it. They could say whatever they liked and Gilbert couldn't do anything about it. He hated it.

His mother leaned back in the couch a little. "Yes… It was around the time that boy got murdered wasn't it? No… That boy was attacked, right?

Gilbert looked at his mother in mild shock. He was surprised that she didn't remember Matthew at all. When they were younger the blond practically lived with them, before his parents decided to work abroad. "Ja… Matthew…"

"Whatever happened to him?" Mused the woman, flicking some hair out of her face.

"He went to an asylum, dear." Said his father simply, lighting up a cigarette. "Heard he was forced there after he was found wandering around the forest covered in cuts and babbling on about monsters." He inhaled deeply and slowly let the smoke out through his nose. "That was the last I heard of it anyway."

His mother cringed a little. "Oh… crazy bastards. Hope for the sake of everyone that the nut job is still locked away. Hopefully for good. Disgusting people."

It took every bit of Gilbert's self-control not to start screaming at the stupid woman. "H-he was actually only there for two months… He's back at school now."

"Then stay away from him." Said his mother. "I don't want my sons associating with freaks."

Gilbert clenched his fists. "Freaks? I thought you both thought I'm a freak… So if I associate with him I'm just associating with my own kind, right?"

"Don't be a smart ass boy." Growled his father darkly. "Stay away from that kid like your mother said. She's your mother, she knows best."

Something inside Gilbert's mind snapped. "Mutter… Mutter knows best… I would agree with that if she lived here for more than a week every few years. I'd even agree to that if she still does what she does now but come home without the boob job that makes her look like a prostitute!"

His mother slapped him, leaving a red mark on his face. "Don't you dare speak to me like that you little shit! I'm your mother!"

Gilbert growled and stood up, laughing a little. "You're my mother? My mother? Fuck that you whore! You're nothing more than the bitch that got knocked up with his sperm! You two are never around for me or Ludwig! You're both nothing more than pests!"

"Apologize to us right this second boy." Growled his father. He looked like he was about to snap. Gilbert knew he would probably get the crap kicked out of him, but he didn't care.

"Fuck you old man." Spat Gilbert. "I don't give a fuck about what you two have to say about anything! Matthew is my boyfriend so fuck you all! Yeah, I'm dating the guy! I'm gay! If you don't like it you can suck my dick!"

Before he knew what was happening, his father had grabbed his shoulder and kneed him in the stomach. He shoved Gilbert to the ground and pinned him under his shoe. His cigarette was still firmly in place between his lips. "Don't you fucking talk to us like that you faggot!"

Gilbert gasped for air from his position on the floor, but he quickly got over it and started laughing. "Keseseseseseses! What's wrong old man? Pissed that I've probably had more sex in the past few weeks than you have ever had with that shrivelled up old hag, or are you just angry that your faggot of a son might have been fucking in this house! You two should be fucking happy! I'm a fucking albino for fuck's sake! I'm a freak! Being gay shouldn't be a surprise to either of you!"

"You're a fucking disgrace!" Snapped his father, applying a small amount of pressure to Gilbert's chest. Making it harder for him to breathe. "You're a filthy little freak! You wouldn't even be alive if your grandfather said he wouldn't give us any financial support if we aborted you!"

The grin on Gilbert's face just got wider and wider. "So you just wanted the money? I'm just an abnormal, unwanted bastard? You two are the worst fucking parents in the world! You just wanted a perfect child and you fucking got him the second time around! Good fucking job!" He glanced over to the doorway. Ludwig was standing there with a guilty look on his face. It was no secret between them that their parents preferred Ludwig over Gilbert. Both of them thought it was sick how their parents could reject one of them so deeply to the point where they couldn't be in the same room without a fight breaking out.

"That's right you faggot." Hissed his father. "You were a mistake! You should never have been born! You'd be doing us all a favour if you would just hurry up and die!"

"Did you bastards try to kill me when I was born too?" Snapped Gilbert. "Did you try to smother me? Poison me? Neglect me? I'm just a thorn in your side aren't I?"

"Yes you are!" Cried his mother. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. But whether they genuine or not was another matter. She could have just wanted someone to start paying attention to her again. "You never listened to anything we said! You would go around the house breaking things like a spoilt brat! You never appreciated what you had! Even when I was pregnant you wouldn't let me rest! You always wanted something from me!"

Gilbert growled and pushed his father's foot off his chest. "I'm one year older than him you bitch! I was a fucking baby! I needed you, but I sure as fuck never need you again! I'm getting the fuck out of here!" He quickly got up and ran to his room. Being smart he had already packed a bag of clothes and a tent. If he needed food he could always count on his friends to feed him.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and sighed. '_Fucking assholes. I fucking hate them._' The sound of his door getting locked made him jump. '_They still have a fucking key?_'

"You can stay there until you calm down you disgusting faggot." Growled his father.

Gilbert gritted his teeth and kicked the door a few times. "FUCK YOU! YOU BASTARDS CAN GO TO HELL! I FUCKING HATE YOU BOTH!" He screamed. The light in his room flickered a little, but he didn't pay much attention to it. "I HOPE YOU BOTH GET MURDERED! YOU TWO SHOULD DIE! JUST FUCKING DIE ALREADY!" Gilbert started to kick and punch the door harder, doing everything in his power to get it open. He didn't notice that some of the objects in his room were starting to rattle around. "DIE! DIE! DIE! HURRY UP AND FUCKING DIE!" The light bulb exploded, followed by every other glass object in his room.

Gilbert fell to his knees in shock. And kind of just sat there. '_… What the fuck just happened?_' Before he could really pull himself together he could hear footsteps coming back to his room. Gilbert cursed a little and quickly dashed over to his window. He hadn't had to escape out that way for a while so he wasn't sure if the tree branch could still support his weight. He didn't care though.

He jumped out and grabbed hold of the branch. It bent a little, but it seemed like it would hold his weight for the moment. Not having much time to be grateful for this fact, he quickly started to climb away from his window and towards the tree.

"GET BACK HERE BOY!" Yelled his father. He was leaning out the window glaring at him.

Gilbert just smirked and gave him the finger. "Fuck you! I'm out of here!" He quickly scrambled across the branch, fumbling a little, but he made it. He climbed down the tree and quickly jumped the fence, running off into the forest.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Gilbert didn't stop running until his legs gave out from under him and he collapsed, completely breathless. He leaned against a tree and gulped down air. He felt awesome. It felt good to snap at those people. They had it coming.

But once the thrill of getting back at them was over he kept reflecting on the explosion. '_What was that? It was like an adrenaline rush, then it was gone… Maybe it was just a coincidence or something? Hopefully… Fuck, weird shit's been happening around here way too much lately…_'

He yawned a little and looked through his bag. He had packed a few things; a tent, two sets of clean clothes, phone, laptop, a large bag of potato chips and a packet of oreos. At least he wouldn't go hungry, but he probably should have grabbed a water bottle. Picking up his phone he started to text Matthew.

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Can I stay over for a few days? Just until my parents leave town again?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Of course you can. Can I ask why you need to stay over?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__I can't tell if they are angry at me because they are homophobic, are disgusted by the idea of me dating someone that was in an asylum for two months or because I was born. I think it's a mix of all three._

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__That's awful. Is your brother alright?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__He'll be fine. They care more about him than about me. I know they care more about his wellbeing than mine._

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Where are you now?_

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__I'm actually pretty close to your place. Am I climbing in through the window?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Yes. See you soon._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Thank you._

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **And yeah… please review?


	20. Hiding

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… What can I say? Samuel kicks ass for once… I OWN NOTHING!

**Hiding**

Matthew sat in his room, patiently waiting for Gilbert to turn up. After a few minutes there was a knock at the window. Matthew went over to it and opened it, pulling Gilbert through. "Are you okay? Why do you have glass all over you?"

"It's a long story…" Said Gilbert quietly. "Can… can you just get me settled in for a bit? I don't know if those psycho's are going to try and look for me or something…"

Matthew nodded and led Gilbert down to the morgue. Once they were there the blond pulled out a metal try and sat on it while Gilbert made himself comfortable on the bean bags. Once there they just sat there in silence. It was like they were waiting for someone to break the silence.

Eventually Matthew sighed sadly. "So what happened?"

"… They are assholes." Muttered Gilbert. "The bitch got a boob job so now she looks like a prostitute and the old man just kicked me and locked me in my room… I escaped out the window."

"But that doesn't explain the glass." Said Matthew quietly. There wasn't a lot, but there was a small amount of glass shards still in his hair. "How did that happen?"

Gilbert looked down nervously. "Well… It's weird and everything but I um… I have no idea what happened… It was similar to what happened before when I went on that rampage through the school… It was weird."

"It's okay." Said Matthew quietly. He got off the tray and sat next to Gilbert. He started to gently brush the glass out of his hair, being careful not to cut himself on any stray pieces. "Just stay here for as long as you need to… You've been through too much today."

Gilbert smiled a little. "Thank you… Is he here?"

"No." Said Matthew. "But he'll be back soon… Want me to get you something to eat? I don't want you to starve or something…"

"Ludwig put some food in my bag." Said Gilbert. "It would have been nice if he remembered some water, but he's still pretty cool for doing that."

Matthew nodded a little. "Okay, I'll bring down some pillows and the blow up mattress for you." He got up and walked out into the hallway. The linen cupboard was near the laundry over the other side of the house. He sighed to himself as he walked there.

'_His parents are horrible people… I wish I could help him more, but what can I do? I'm just a kid._' He opened the cupboard and took out a blanket, the inflatable mattress and a pillow. '_I hope Gil will be okay with this… I don't even know if this mattress still works properly._'

He took them back to his room and down to Gilbert, who gratefully took it. "Thank you Birdie." He said quietly. Gilbert sighed a little and started to blow up the mattress. He looked really conflicted about something.

Matthew frowned a little and sat next to Gilbert, hugging him loosely. "What's wrong? Are you still upset about your parents?"

Gilbert nodded a little. "Yeah… It's official, I'm just an unwanted bastard that they never wanted. About a year before I was born my parents weren't in the best financial situation and they depended mostly on my grandfather for financial support… When they found out I was coming and found out I wasn't going to be normal they wanted to abort me, but if they did that my grandfather would have cut them off completely. They had no choice…"

Matthew nodded and hugged Gilbert tightly. "I'm sorry… But they can't really hate you can they? You're their son. You're their family. They could never hate you… That's just not how things work, right?"

Gilbert chuckled a little and kissed the side of Matthew's head. "Life isn't a fairy tale, Birdie. It's only natural that they rejected me… I mean if I was any other species like mouse or bird or something I would have been kicked out of the family group or eaten. Unlike stories, life doesn't always have a happy ending."

"That's why you have to try your best with whatever you've got." Said Matthew quietly. "I didn't like what happened to me, but I'm making the best of a bad situation." He closed his eyes a little and rested his head against Gilbert's shoulder. "But if I could do things all over again I don't think I would do anything different."

He felt Gilbert wraps his arm around his waist. "Really? Nothing?"

Matthew chuckled a little. "Well, I could do without being attacked."

"And your parents?"

"… What could I do differently there? I was just a kid." He felt his chest tightening a little, wondering if he could have done something to save them. "If they were still alive. He shook his head. "No… if they were still alive I would have never moved here and would never have met you, right?" He felt bad for not wishing that his parent's never died, but he knew what he was saying was true.

Gilbert hummed a little and ran his fingers through Matthew's hair. "That's true… Stay with me tonight? I-I don't want to be alone."

"Of course." Said Matthew happily. "Just get yourself settled in first and I'll be down later. Samuel will probably be over in a few minutes."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Dinner with his uncle was quiet. Matthew couldn't tell if it was because of what happened with Gilbert earlier or if his uncle was thinking deeply about something. He had no idea what though.

'_Maybe I shouldn't have left Kuma in my room… Should I ask him what's wrong or something? I don't know…_' He sighed a little. '_I wonder how Gilbert is doing?_'

His uncle put down his cutlery and sighed a little. "Matthew… Is there something you want to tell me?"

"N-no…" Said Matthew quickly. Did his uncle know that Gilbert was in the house? It was observed to think that, but he couldn't help it. He was a little worried about that.

Samuel raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Really? Nothing at all? Nothing strange happening lately that you want to talk about?"

Matthew bit his bottom lip a little and nervously started to randomly roll some peas around his plate with his knife. He needed to think of something to deflect the real reason for his nervousness. "Well… do you hate homosexuals?"

Samuel looked at Matthew in shock. Obviously not expecting the younger blond to ask him that. "Huh? Well I… I'm not homophobic if that's what you mean. Seriously, my mother was French and my dad was French-Canadian. As far as they were concerned, love was love and as long as it wasn't an abusive relationship they were pretty much okay with everything."

This made Matthew smile a little. "R-really? Y-you don't care at all?"

"I'm indifferent about it… Why?"

Matthew's smile quickly faded and he looked down at his lap. "I-I'm… I'm gay…" He whispered. "A-and I'm dating G-Gilbert…" He expected his uncle to get angry at him. To throw stuff around. To scream at him. Something, anything.

Instead Samuel chuckled. "Really? Were you really so worried about that? I thought it was something serious like… Never mind. But since I'm the adult here, I just want to say that I personally think you can do better."

"So you don't mind that I'm with Gilbert?" Asked Matthew in shock. "I'm not going to get disowned or something? You're not going to hurt me?"

Samuel smiled a little and walked over to Matthew. "Why would I do that? I kind of suspected that there was something going on between you two anyway." He patted Matthew's head. "You two hung around each other too much to just be friends. That's what I thought anyway… But if he acts like a jerk I will make sure he stays the hell away from you."

Matthew blushed a little. "He's not a jerk… and thank you… That's actually a lot off my mind. Thank you." He turned a little and hugged Samuel tightly. He felt "Thank you… Thank you so much."

Samuel chuckled a little and hugged back. "It's fine… Just, just don't do something stupid… I'm glad you're acting like yourself again."

This made Matthew grin from ear to ear. "So… If I were to invite him over some time you would be okay with that?"

The older blond frowned a little. "No… I still don't want him over. I still don't like him."

"Oh… But you're okay with me dating him?" Asked Matthew hopefully. He looked up at his uncle with big puppy dog eyes. He still wasn't a hundred precent sure how he felt.

Samuel sighed a little, running his fingers through his hair. "Well… Sure I'm pissed about it, but I guess I can't really do anything about it… Just no sex in the house."

Matthew's face went bright red. "Eh? Why would you say something like that?"

Samuel chuckled a little. "No reason… I'm just happy that you're acting like a normal teen again. Go clean yourself up and go to bed. Don't forget those pills for your back and stuff."

"Yeah…" Muttered Matthew quietly. He got up and quickly scrambled out of the room. Sometimes he wondered about his uncle.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When Matthew was gone, Samuel sighed happily and smiled. '_So he's just gay? That's probably the best news I've heard all day._' He picked up Matthew's plate and put it in the sink. He started to do the washing up.

"So he's dating that albino…" He muttered. "I guess it could probably be worse, but I'm not sure how… Maybe I should just give him a chance, he does make Matthew happy…"

There was still doubt in his mind about Gilbert. The albino was trouble with a capital T. He was a troubled youth that came from an equally broken home. Everyone knew that his parents worked abroad, but no one was really sure why. It was speculated that they were both big investors and travelled from place to place all over the world. Every time they came back here with an arrogant air about them, like they were better than everyone else. He hated it. He hated stuck up people.

There was an odd ringing noise as someone yanked on the bell pull out the front. He sighed a little and went to answer it. When he opened the door he was surprised to see a brunet man and a blond woman. It took him a moment to recognize them as Gilbert's parents.

"Um… hi?"

The woman smiled half-heartedly. "Hello, sorry to bother you so late at night, but we are looking for our son." She chuckled a little as she looked over her nails. "He's hard to miss… Red eyes, paper white skin, silver hair… Goes by the name of Gilbert?"

Samuel frowned and crossed his arms. "Gilbert? I haven't seen him today. Matthew might have seen him, but I haven't."

The woman glared at Samuel. "Oh… so it's your son that turned ours into a fag."

"Excuse me?" Asked Samuel in disbelief.

The man sighed and put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Now dear, no need to get all flustered like that… But yes your son is in a romantic relationship with ours and we aren't comfortable with our son associating with yours…"

"And why might that be?" Asked Samuel. He could just feel the arrogance radiating off the pair.

"We don't want a lunatic hanging around out son." Snapped the woman. "Who knows what psychotic shit that faggot has gotten our son into! What kind of a father are you? Letting your son become some sick perverted individual!"

Samuel glared at the woman. "Excuse me? Am I hearing you correctly? There is something seriously wrong with you people if you think that my nephew, yes you heard me, nephew, is the cause of all your troubles? If you idiots actually stayed home instead of running around the world you two might have gotten along better with him."

"Are you accusing us of bad parenting?" Snapped the man.

Samuel smirked. "Maybe I am and maybe I'm not. All I know is that I at least try to be around for Matthew as much as he needs me to be. When was the last time you even shared a meal with both sons and not made a fuss about anything?"

The woman growled and clenched her fists. "You… you bastard… Don't you fucking dare judge our parenting skills! Your fucking nephew is fucking crazy! You can't judge-"

Samuel growled and punched the doorframe, sending sizable splinters everywhere. "Don't even fucking start. You two are in a situation you can't win. I won't bore you with my life story, but to put it simply you bastards don't have a snowballs chance in hell of intimidating me in the slightest. If either of you bastards even think of coming near Matthew I won't hesitate to put you both in body bags! I have friends in unholy places! Now fuck off and find your fucking son!" He slammed the door in their faces and stormed off. "That reminds me… I need to see if my contacts are out of jail yet or are still in hiding… No one threatens my family ever."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When Matthew had brushed his teeth he went back to his room and down to the morgue to see how Gilbert was going. He was laying on the mattress all set up to sleep. He smiled a little. "Hey Birdie… Are you okay? Your face is a little red."

Matthew smiled a little and sat down next to Gilbert. "Yeah… I told my uncle that I'm gay and he didn't disown me… and I told him that we're dating and he still didn't lose it… He just said as long as you don't act like a jerk he's fine with it… I think. It's hard to tell with him."

Gilbert chuckled a little. "Samuel's a hard one to figure out… Sleep with me?"

Matthew's face went bright red. "House rule, no sex! That was like the last thing he said to me before I ran off to brush my teeth!"

The albino just grinned and moved over a little on the mattress to make room for Matthew. "Sleeping together doesn't always mean sex, Birdie… I just don't want to be alone tonight. Is that alright?"

The blond nodded a little and smiled, but a blush was still present on his face. "Yeah… I should probably change clothes… Do you want to borrow some clothes?"

"I usually just sleep in boxers." Said Gilbert. "Besides even if it gets cold down here with the blanket and you beside me I'll stay warm."

Matthew's blush got darker and darker. "Eh? S-stop saying such things please! I-I'm going to get changed!" He quickly escaped up to his room and pulled on an old shirt and some baggy pants. Once he was dressed he picked up Kuma and sighed a little. "What do you think about this Kuma? Is this really a good idea or will this end horribly?"

Kuma shrugged. " Not sure… Just lock your door so your uncle won't come in and discover you and him. That's all I have to say… Also if you two end up fucking take me out of the room first! I don't want that image burnt into my eyes or any of your filth covering my fur. I'm hand wash only."

Matthew smiled nervously and quickly locked the door to his room before returning to Gilbert. The albino was in his boxers and wrapped up in the blanket by the time he got back. "Still sleep with your bear?"

"Yes… Is that a problem?" Asked Matthew timidly.

Gilbert shook his head and pulled back the blanket to let Matthew in. "No problem here, it's kind of cute. Come to bed."

Matthew nodded and crawled in next to Gilbert, holding Kuma close to his chest. "Y-you know… I'm an in-insomniac s-s-so I might n-not a-actually go to s-sleep tonight… I-I might j-just end up watching y-you all n-night and th-that's c-creepy…"

Gilbert smiled and hugged Matthew tightly. "I don't care… I just like being here with you. You make me feel safe, Birdie… I hope I make you feel safe too."

"Of course you do." Said Matthew quietly. "You're probably the only human I've ever felt truly safe around my whole life… I don't even trust my uncle fully… I trust you and you keep me safe… I love you Gilbert. More than anything in the world."

Gilbert grinned and kissed Matthew softly on the lips. "I love you too… Can you sneak me some pancakes tomorrow?"

Matthew chuckled a little. "Sure. Anything for you."

"Okay…" Gilbert yawned a little and closed his eyes. "Night Birdie."

"Good night Gil." Said Matthew quietly. He wasn't in the least bit tired but he didn't mind. It actually felt nice to be held like this by him. After a few minutes of silence, maybe even hours it was hard to tell, Kuma spoke up.

"He's different from before… He just feels more awake if you know what I mean." Said the bear. "Well… maybe you don't but he just seems to have a different energy around him… He seems more like you. It's weird and confusing to me… Is what I'm saying confusing to you too?"

Matthew shrugged a little, choosing to stay quiet. He didn't want to wake Gilbert up, but he understood what Kuma was saying. Gilbert just felt different somehow now. He felt more exposed. Kuma was right, Gilbert was different from before. But different neither means good nor bad, just not the same.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **So yeah… Yay for mild happiness and understanding stuff… Honestly I've been watching some Japanese horror movies while writing this so yeah… That's where I drew my inspiration from here… Please review!


	21. Home Alone

**Shinigami-cat: **Well hello and welcome to another chapter. I hope you all enjoy your stay here and I guess I'll just continue now. Though I must warn that there is fluff ahead… so much fluffing fluff… way more fluff than I usually write. Stupid warm weather, making me write fluff and not horror… I OWN NOTHING!

**Home Alone**

Gilbert woke up with Matthew's back pressed against his chest. He was grateful that the blond hadn't gotten board and left him halfway through the night. He smiled a little and kissed the back of his head. "Morning Birdie."

Matthew rolled over to he was on his back and smiled at Gilbert. "Morning Gil… Did you sleep well? I know it's odd to sleep somewhere else and everything but I hope you're okay with everything…"

"Ja, of course I am." Said Gilbert. "Why wouldn't I be? Have any idea what the time is?"

The blond shrugged a little. "Not sure… Probably about eight or nine. Want me to get you something to eat? I'll check if my uncle is still here and stuff…"

"That would be awesome." Said Gilbert with a small smile. "After all the shit that's happened it would be nice to have a hot shower… Maybe even better if you decided to join me?"

Matthew's face went bright red. "Eh? G-Gilbert!"

Gilbert just grinned and rolled onto his back. "I was just being stupid… But if you want to join me I don't mind. I won't force you to do anything because I'm not that kind of guy… But it would be nice." The poor blond looked like he was torn between being horrified and accepting the offer. Gilbert just grinned. "Well you may as well see if he's still here and if I remember correctly, you said you would get me pancakes."

"R-right… I'll g-go and do that…" Muttered Matthew. He slowly got up and walked out of the room. He looked very dazed and perhaps a little confused. It seemed as though Gilbert had unintentionally melted the Canadian's brain.

This made Gilbert chuckle. He figured that it was a bit of an achievement to get Matthew in such a state. '_Wonder if I can actually get him into the shower? Now that's tempting… Screw it. I'm going to get dressed._'

He slowly sat up and pulled over his bag. He pulled out a shirt and some pants, quickly putting them on. "Now what?" He sighed a little and decided to check his phone. He had a few messages from his brother and one from Antonio and Francis.

_**FROM: **__Francy pants  
__Sorry, but you can't stay over. I'm really sorry! Hope everything goes okay with your parents._

_**FROM: **__Tomato  
__Hey amigo, sorry but you can't come over. I got grounded again._

_**FROM: **__West  
__What happened? Are you alright? There's glass all over your room._

_**FROM: **__West  
__Call me please! Where are you?_

_**FROM: **__West  
__Are you okay? Call me._

_**FROM: **__West  
__They are looking for you. They are really angry. Either stay where you are or get to grandpa's house. You seriously need to call me. I'm really worried about you._

_**FROM: **__West  
__Please just let me know that you're alright. They are really angry. Hopefully they will leave soon. But you are alright aren't you? You don't even need to call me. Just text me or something! Please._

Gilbert sighed a little and quickly texted to his brother. Just telling him where he was and that he was alright for now. When that was done he ventured up to Matthew's room to see that it was pretty much deserted. "Okay…"

A few moments later Matthew walked in with a small smile on his face. "Well, Samuel is out until about midday. So yeah we have the whole house to ourselves… Want to eat first or have a shower?"

"I want to eat first." Said Gilbert happily. Matthew's cooking was the best.

Matthew smiled sheepishly and beaconed him to follow. "I thought as much… I made some of the batter while you were getting dressed. I just need to cook it."

"Sound's awesome to me."

Matthew nodded in agreement and started to cook the pancakes when he got to the kitchen. "Has Ludwig called at all? I suspect he would be worried about you."

"Yeah, I sent him a text telling him I was here." Said Gilbert. "I hope he's alright… He told me to go to my grandpa's house if I hadn't found a place by now. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Why wouldn't I?" Asked Matthew.

Gilbert shrugged a little and leaned against the counter, watching Matthew cook. He was still in the clothes he was wearing last night. The albino grinned a little at this. He could finally get a good look at them, the night before he was too tired to really care. Matthew's pants were so baggy on him it looked like they would be better fitted for an obese person and the shirt he was wearing was like cocktail dress on him. It was adorable and made Gilbert grin from ear to ear.

"You look like you're in a cocoon there Birdie." He cooed at Matthew.

Matthew blushed darkly. "W-what?"

"Your clothes are really baggy." Said Gilbert with a shrug. "It's kind of cute really… I like it. But it hides your gorgeous body."

If Matthew's blush could get any darker it could. "P-please don't say that…"

Gilbert grinned. "Why? It's true. You're beautiful Matthew. I love everything about you. Your hair, smile, eyes, voice, your blush, your cooking… Everything."

Matthew smiled a little and plated up some pancakes for Gilbert. "There must be something that you don't like about me… It's physically impossible to love everything about someone…"

"Well I'm an impossible person." Said Gilbert. He grinned a little. "Is there something you don't like about me?"

"No." Said Matthew honestly. "I-I guess there's nothing I don't like about you… Want some pancakes or not?"

Gilbert quickly grabbed his plate and kissed Matthew's cheek. "Of course I want food… Got any syrup?"

"Top shelf in the cupboard next to the fridge." Said Matthew casually as he plated some pancaked up for himself.

Gilbert grinned and quickly grabbed the bottle. "Looks like you're almost out."

"Well next time I go shopping I'll get more." Said Matthew. He sat down and started to eat. Gilbert just grinned and started eating too. Matthew's pancakes were heaven. Little fluffy pieces of heaven in sweet syrup. Delicious, delicious heaven. Matthew was the first to finish, mainly because he had made himself less than Gilbert. "Almost done?"

Gilbert nodded and quickly finished off his food. "Yep! Delicious as always…" He looked over Matthew's face and frowned a little, he had some maple syrup on the corner of his mouth. "Want a little help Birdie?"

Matthew tilted his head in a confused manner. "Eh? Help with that?"

A devilish smirk graced Gilbert's face as he leaned across the table. "Why this my dear…" He quickly flicked his tongue out, licking the syrup off the corner of Matthew's mouth. He pulled back a little and licked his lips. He could see that Matthew's face was covered in a dark blush. "All gone now…" He quickly glanced at Matthew lips and smirked. They were so tempting. "Actually… I think I missed a little bit…" He leaned forwards and kiss Matthew lovingly. After a few moments the kiss was slowly returned with just as much love.

After a few minutes Matthew pulled back. He was still blushing horribly, but at least he was smiling. "Y-you didn't h-have to do that…" He whispered quietly.

Gilbert just grinned. "Didn't have to, but I wanted to… Want to have a bath with me? You have flour in your hair, and I promise to keep my hands above the equator."

Matthew looked down at his lap. "I um… Okay…"

"Are you sure?" Asked Gilbert. "I don't want you to do something you're not comfortable with."

"It'll be fine." Said Matthew quietly. "Like you said, you're going to behave… and it's not like we haven't seen each other naked before…"

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

That's how the two ended up in the bathtub together. Gilbert was just so tempted to reach out and touch every part of the younger teen's body, but he reluctantly restrained himself. He didn't want to scare him off now. That just wouldn't be right. Matthew didn't seem too comfortable about it. He was too ridged, but it wasn't really that surprising. He still had those horrible bruises on his back.

"Are they getting any better?" Asked Gilbert. "The bruises?"

Matthew shrugged a little. "It hurts to sleep on my back, but I'm taking painkillers for it. So it doesn't hurt as much anymore… Does it look bad?"

"A little…" Said Gilbert. He reached out and gently ran his fingertips over the edge of the bruise. It was still a rich purple, blue colour but the edges were slowly turning yellow. "But it's getting better… How did you get them again?" He remembered, but he wanted to see if Matthew's story had changed at all.

"I told you… I had a dream where it killed me by ripping out my spine." Said Matthew quietly. "That's where they came from…"

Gilbert sighed a little. He had hoped that Matthew would say something different instead of the same old story about the thing from his dream. '_What does that thing even look like? Is it like that creepy white faced ghost woman? It would be creepy if it was…_' He wraps his arms around Matthew's shoulders and pulled him close so that his chest was lightly pressed against Matthew's back.

"Are you okay, Gil?" Asked the blond. He tilted his head back a little. "Still worried about them?"

Gilbert shook his head and kissed the side of Matthew's head. "No… I'm just worried about you."

"You don't need to…"

"But I do… and I don't mind. I'm used to it."

Matthew sighed sadly and gently wrapped his fingers around Gilbert's wrist. "I don't want you to be used to it… You shouldn't be used to worrying about me… It's not fair on you at all…"

Gilbert chuckled a little. "I know, but I really don't mind. I've been looking after you for a long, long time… Besides it's kind of cute how you worry about me worrying about you. You're getting better right? And no nightmares about some creepy chick with knife fingers right?"

Matthew smiled a little. "Yeah, I guess…" He quickly turned to face Gilbert. His eyes were wide with fear. "I never told you it was female or had knife fingers."

"Um… I'm pretty sure you did…" Said Gilbert nervously. He didn't mean for that to slip.

Matthew frowned. "No I didn't. How do you know that? Why do you know that? What aren't you telling me?"

"N-nothing!" Said Gilbert quickly. "I'm not hiding anything at all I swear!"

"… Lies" Muttered Matthew bitterly. He moved out of Gilbert's arms and glared at him. "I know that you are hiding something. Just tell me! Have you seen it or something? Is it in your dreams now? Is it after you?" His eyes went wide with that thought and he started to shake uncontrollably. "I-it's stopped following me… I-i-it's after you… It wants you dead because it didn't get me… This is all my fault! If I j-just died none of this shit would have happened!"

Gilbert quickly pulled Matthew into a hug and kissed the frightened boys face repeatedly. "It's alright." He whispered calmly between kisses. "Calm down beautiful. Just breathe. It's alright. Nothing's wrong. It's alright. I'm not going to go anywhere ever." He cupped Matthew's face in his hands and gently tilted it so that they were facing each other. He smiled lovingly at the blond and stroked his cheek with his thumb. "Ich liebe dich mein Vögelchen."

Matthew calmed down a little, but he still looked scared. "Y-you k-know I don't u-understand G-German…"

The albino smiled softly. "It means I love you my little Birdie… So you never need to worry about anything. I'll always be here to protect you from anything… I just assumed that whatever it was had knife fingers because you said it ripped out your spine and I had half a chance of getting the gender right… So I haven't seen it, nor has it been in my dreams. So don't worry about it." He didn't like lying to Matthew over something so small, but he didn't want Matthew to have a massive freak out over nothing.

The blond blushed a little and averted his eyes. "Oh… okay… Je t'aime aussi, mon preux chevalier."

Gilbert frowned a little. He had hung around Francis long enough to know what the first part meant, but he had no clue about the last part. "Birdie? What did the last part mean? All I got from that was, I love you my something something."

A small smile graced Matthew's face that just made Gilbert's heart flutter a little behind his rib cage. "It's nothing bad… It's a good thing I swear. If you can call me your little Birdie in German, I think I should be allowed to call you something as equally endearing in French."

Gilbert pouted a little, but let it slide. As long as Matthew wasn't calling him something unawesome he was alright with it. "Okay Birdie… Want to get out soon?"

"Yeah… My uncle should be getting back soon actually." Said the blond quietly. "I don't think he would want to see us…" He sighed a little and pulled out the plug.

The albino chuckled at that thought. "I can imagine his face! He would be so fucking red and pissed off at me! Fuck he might try to castrate me!"

"… Why do you find your immanent castration funny?"

"I'm a sick bastard." Said Gilbert with a smirk. He looked over Matthew's body, smirking a little. He looked over Matthew's wet body, he looked just too good. He licked his lips a little.

Matthew blushed a little. "W-what?"

"Just thinking about how good you look." Said Gilbert. "I could just eat you up…"

Matthew's blush darkened dramatically. "S-stop it. You're embarrassing me…"

"You shouldn't fell embarrassed, Birdie." Tested Gilbert with a lopsided grin. "It's just the two of us. Besides, it's not like you don't think I look hotter than hell."

Matthew's blush was now dangerously red. "S-stop it! Y-yes you're h-hot, but it's not like I-I intentionally look!"

"Really?" Asked Gilbert slyly. "Never taken a peak at me? Not even now? Because I personally think that you have one smoking body. So irresistible… You're pretty well endowed too."

"… I'm sleeping in my own bed tonight." Muttered Matthew. "You're staying in the morgue."

Gilbert's jaw dropped. "What? But I thought I was being all cute and stuff and seductive and sexy and stuff…"

"Well you over did it." Snapped Matthew, though there was no malice behind his voice. Mainly embarrassment beyond belief.

Gilbert frowned a little, but shrugged it off. "Okay… I guess I deserve that… Kiss?"

Matthew sighed a little. "You're never satisfied are you…" He leaned forwards and pressed his lips against Gilbert. The albino happily returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around Matthew's hips. Seeing as how he wasn't sleeping in the same bed as Matthew he thought he may as well push his luck. He quickly slipped his hands down and squeezed Matthew's ass. "GILBERT!"

"Keseseseseseseseseses!"

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **So much fluffiness and slight perversion and panic and fluff and Gilbert acting like a pervert again… Please review.


	22. Documentary

**Shinigami-cat: **So much sweetness has been happening lately! Time to crank up the horror I think or at least the drama and suspense… Mainly because I'm evil and have been watching American Horror story lately (both seasons, seriously Asylum is fucking messed up D:)… I OWN NOTHING!

**Documentary**

Matthew didn't feel the least bit upset about banishing Gilbert down to the morgue for the night and he sure didn't feel the least bit sorry for him when he slapped him either for grabbing his ass. Well, maybe just a little but he wasn't going to tell Gilbert that. '_I'll just pay him off with pancakes tomorrow… or something._'

He flopped down onto the couch and sighed a little. His uncle had called moments after they had gotten out of the bath to tell Matthew that he won't be back until midnight because of reasons. So Gilbert and Matthew were going to be left all alone together. It was kind of nice really.

Gilbert sighed a little and sat on the floor in front of the couch, leaning his head back a little so that he could see Matthew. "So we're all alone today and tonight then?"

"Yep."

"Just you and me…"

"Yep."

"Me and you…"

"Try anything and I'll break your fingers."

"Yes sir." Said Gilbert quickly. He smiled a little at Matthew. "What do you want to do then? Got any homework?"

"Unlike you I do all my work at school." Said Matthew calmly. "Plus with all my study periods means I almost never have homework… Want to just watch TV for a bit? Cartoons or something like that?"

The albino shrugged a little. "I don't care. We can watch whatever you want to watch."

Matthew smiled a little and turned on the TV. After a minute of channel surfing he stopped on some documentary about something or another. It was about halfway through. He was about to change the channel when he saw something that peaked his interest. There was an man interviewing a young girl, she couldn't have been more than eighteen, but with the patchy black and white film she must have been a grandmother or a great grandmother by now. There was just something about her that made him stop and stare.

"Change the channel Birdie." Whined Gilbert. "This is boring."

"In a second…" Muttered Matthew. After a few seconds a clip started to run. It seemed to show an experiment where the girl was sitting in a room with a large aluminium ball. The ball levitated in the air for a few moments before it smashed into a wall.

"Jacqueline Marius…" Whispered Gilbert.

Matthew frowned a little and looked down at the albino. "Eh? You know my grandma?"

Gilbert looked up at Matthew, he looked shocked to say the least. "Your grandma's Jacqueline Marius? The famous psychic from France?"

"Psychic?" Asked Matthew. "I don't know if she was a psychic or anything, but I know that she looked just like that when she was younger… Samuel never really talked much about her or what she did… All I know is that she married my grandpa when she was nineteen and migrated to Canada when she was about twenty one and had kids when she was in her late twenties. I was too young to ask about what she did… So I don't really know."

"I see…" Gilbert turned his attention back to the TV and so did Matthew. This seemed like it would be extremely interesting for both of them.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

The interview smiled a little as he sat down to talk to Jacqueline. It was a picturesque location; a small table in the middle of a beautiful garden. They were drinking some kind of tea.

_Jacqueline Marius, now thirty eight, moved to Canada with her husband nine years ago. Since moving here she has requested that she would like to be left alone to be with her husband and to raise her future family. She has agreed to do one final interview._

"Thank you for agreeing to this Miss Marius." Said the interviewer.

Jacqueline chuckled a little and tucked some hair behind her ear. "It's Mrs Williams now actually, and it was my pleasure."

"Why did you agree to this last interview in the first place?"

The woman chuckled a little and gently rubbed her hands over her obvious baby bump. "Well I just thought it would be nice to do something like this before I give it up for good… My precious children and loving husband will always come first to me."

"Congratulations on that by the way." Said the interviewer happily. "Many of your past colleagues and clients are very happy for you too."

Jacqueline giggled a little. "I'm very grateful that they are happy for me. They were all pleasant and kind people… My twins and I are very grateful for it."

"So you're having twins?"

"Yes. One girl and one boy." She said with confidence. "I think that we'll call the boy Samuel and the girl… Madeline. I've always been unsure of girl names, but my husband likes it."

"Do you think your children will have your gifts?"

Jacqueline shook her head. "Sadly I don't think so… They might have a small amount of it, like a little PK-LT or PK-MT… I honestly think that it might skip a generation." She chuckled a little. "My grandbabies will probably be able to move mountains with just a thought. That would be just adorable."

"Is it because of your children that you decided to put your old life as a psychic medium behind you?"

She shrugged a little and drank some tea. "Well… yes and no… I don't really want them to grow up in a world where I'm never there for them because I'm working on exorcizing spirits from buildings. That wouldn't be fair to them… I also want to help my husband with some of his work too."

"If I'm not mistaken you husband, Phillipe Williams, was if not still is a psychic researcher?"

"Yes he is." Said Jacqueline happily. A slight blush dusted her cheeks. "We actually met because of his work… A young psychic researcher of twenty one and a young psychic of eighteen… We were just destined for each other. Fate, if you would. I still remember the first thing we did back before we fell in love…"

"Mind retelling the story?"

She giggled a little. "Well I remember it was snowing that day when he came over to my apartment… He was fumbling around and trying to set up everything for his first test of my abilities. It was that light box test. He looked at me sceptically, saying that the test was really difficult and no one ever gets all of them right. So I showing him up and got them all right, and just to add insult to injury I made the lights flicker a little. Needless to say he was impressed."

The interviewer chuckled a little. "Sounds like fun… Is there anything you really fear about the future?"

Jacqueline frowned a little and slowly rubbed a hand over her stomach. "The future? I guess there are many things to worry about… But I can feel terrible sadness in my children's future… I'm not sure what it is, but I know it will be bad… If I'm not around for them I hope they can be around for each other… But I don't know."

"Can't you tell the future?"

"No… no one is able to really tell the future." Said Jacqueline sadly. "There are endless possibilities and paths one can take. Most psychics that predict the future only ever predict the most likely scenario at the time. That's just how things are." The interview ended and the interviewer started to talk about something else. It seemed that Jacqueline was only a small part of the story.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Matthew knitted his eyebrows together as he thought long and hard about what he just watched. '_Grandma was a… a psychic? I-I don't understand… Why didn't Samuel say something about it? I guess he didn't have to, but still… Does that explain why that thing is haunting me? I don't understand…_' He took a few deep breaths as he felt his heart starting to race unbelievably fast in his chest. '_W-why is my heart beating so quickly? I-I don't understand…_'

"Are you okay Birdie?" Asked Gilbert. He had turned to face Matthew and looked more than a little worried.

Forcing a smile, Matthew nodded. "Y-yeah… I-I'm fine… I'm just… I'm just going to stay here for a while… I don't feel like moving at the moment… You can do your homework or something like that…" He really didn't feel well at all. It was as if finding out about his grandmother had made him physically sick. He curled up a little on the couch and just stared off into space.

Gilbert sighed a little and ran his fingers through Matthew's slightly tangled blond. "Birdie… Try to relax a little. Stress isn't good for you… There's probably a million women called Jacqueline Marius who married some guy called Phillipe Williams… who had fraternal twins… and called one Samuel… and one Madeline… This isn't helping at all is it?"

"No." Said Matthew quietly. "If you're hungry you can make something in the kitchen… You know where everything is."

"Don't frown Birdie." Said Gilbert quietly. "Frowns don't suit you at all."

Matthew couldn't help but smile a little at that. "Okay… But if there's something you want to do then go ahead… Just don't destroy my house… I just don't really feel like doing much today…"

"I understand." Said Gilbert quietly. After a few seconds a grin graced his face. "Still feel sad?"

"Yep."

"You do remember I know where you're most ticklish right?"

"…"

Gilbert smirked a little and cracked his knuckles. "By the time I'm done with you, you will be gasping for breath, I can promise you that."

Large and slightly frightened lavender eyes looked deep into Gilbert's sinister red. '_Two meanings._' He thought quickly. '_That has two meanings. He better mean the clean version damn it or I swear I'll-_' His thoughts were cut short when Gilbert's hands quickly found their way under his shirt and started to tickle his sides.

"GAH! S-STOP IT!" Cried Matthew in between bouts of laughter as he flailed his limbs around. "GIL! I-I CAN'T B-BREATHE! S-STOP! G-GIL!"

Gilbert stopped for a few seconds and smirked down at Matthew. "You done feeling story for yourself now?"

Matthew pouted a little and nodded. "Yeah… You know you're still sleeping in the morgue alone tonight no matter what you do, right?"

"Birdie's so mean to me!" Whined Gilbert.

Matthew chuckled a little. "Only when you deserve it."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

It was night now. Probably midnight, but Matthew didn't really care that much. He was just sitting in his bed, holding Kuma close to his chest. He didn't really have much to do, he just wanted to read a little, but couldn't find anything of much interest so he just ended up watching his clock. Watching the minutes tick by and an agonizingly slow pace.

"So boring…"

"Maybe you should sneak down and sleep with him?" Suggested Kuma. "You know you would prefer that rather than being board up here all the time. You almost went to sleep because of it last night too. He's a good influence on you."

"I'm glad you think so." Said Matthew quietly. "Hey… did you know my grandmother was a psychic?"

"Of course I did." Said Kuma. He wriggled in Matthew's arms a little. "Why wouldn't I know? She made me."

"Oh… Do you know why Samuel doesn't talk about her at all?"

Kuma shrugged. "Not sure… I guess since he doesn't have any psychic abilities he always thought she was a crazy person. Making herbal medicines and stuff was probably just a disguise for her using PK-LT to heal people…" He hummed a little. "Give someone peppermint tea while patting their back to cure a headache while using PK-LT and someone will believe it was just the tea that fixed them… Do you think you have any ESP or PK?"

Matthew quickly shook his head. "It's not possible… I mean how could I? I can't move things with my mind or anything like that… I'm just a kid." He sighed a little. "A sad excuse for a kid if you ask me… I just… I keep messing things up. I'm a burden to everyone."

"You're not a burden to me." Said Kuma quietly. "You have never been and you never will be… I like you… And I'm sure Gilbert has never thought you were a burden."

"I guess you're right." Said Matthew quietly. "But I just can't help but feel that I am… I know I shouldn't but… What do you know about the light box test? The one that tests someone's ESP or PK or something?"

"It's nothing special." Said Kuma. "If you get over twenty five precent you have super high physic levels and anything under twenty five precent is abnormal too… Meaning that the closer to zero you are the more likely you are to develop psychic powers later on in life."

"… Why are you never this helpful when I really need you to be?" Muttered Matthew.

"Because you never ever ask me about anything relevant." Said Kuma. Matthew frowned a little, but Kuma did have a point.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Slowly… ever so slowly moving back to the horror… please review!


	23. Sudden Changes

**Shinigami-cat: **Okay people I have some big news for you all. There's this super awesome person that's asked me if they could turn Black Snow into a doujinshi. That person is EvelynHayes and you should check them out on Deviantart… I OWN NOTHING!

**Sudden Changes**

Quiet whispering lulled Gilbert from his sleep. He groaned a little and opened his eyes. Looking down at him was Matthew. He was already dressed. "Come on Gil." He said. "Time for school."

"… Too freaking early." Muttered Gilbert. He rolled over and pulled the sheet over his head. The covers were quickly pulled back by Matthew.

"Come on Gil… I made you breakfast." He offered a plate of toast to the albino, smiling a little. "I-I know it's not pancakes… but I thought it would be just as good… I also made lunch for both of us so you don't need to worry about that…"

Gilbert sighed a little and sat up, taking the plate of food offered. "Do I really have to go to school today?"

"It's probably for the best." Said Matthew quietly. "I-I don't want you to get into trouble because of it…" He sighed a little and played with his hair a little. "You'll have to leave out the window… Samuel doesn't have work today, I think…"

Gilbert yawned and stuck some toast in his mouth while looking through his bag for clothes. He decided to wear what he was wearing on Saturday. It didn't really matter that much anyway. He pulled on his shirt and looked over at Matthew, smiling a little. "Thanks Birdie… You take good care of me."

"Consider it payback for all the times you helped me." Said Matthew happily. "Besides, I love you so I'd do this kind of stuff for you anyway."

Gilbert grinned a little and started to look through his bag again. "Ja, you're an awesome boyfriend… I don't have any clean underwear… Fuck it. I can go commando today."

The sudden, almost explosive blush that covered Matthew's face was priceless. "EH?"

The albino couldn't help but chuckle at Matthew's reaction. "You know, commando… as in no undies. I'm free balling it today."

Matthew groaned in frustration and covered his face with his hands. "S-shut up… Please…"

"Sorry Birdie, but you're just too much fun to tease."

The blond muttered something under his breath and quickly got up. "Yeah, yeah… Just come out when you're ready to go." He walked out of the room, still muttering things to himself.

This action made Gilbert pout a little, but he didn't really care that much. He was still tired. After changing into his clothes he quickly took some things out of his bag and packed the lunch Matthew had made for him. With that done he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked back up to Matthew's room.

"Ready to go yet?" He asked with a yawn.

Matthew nodded and opened up his window. "Yeah. Just meet me around the front. Samuel would get suspicious if I didn't leave via the front door… Plus I want to keep it closed when I'm not home…"

"Sure. I understand. See you around the front." Said Gilbert sleepily. He walked over to the window and climbed out. Once outside he slowly made his way around to the front of the house, noting the slight chill in the air. Winter was coming or at least autumn.

By the time he got to the door, Matthew was already there. Now that Gilbert looked him properly and in proper light, Matthew just looked so exhausted and tired. His eyes even had that distant look in them. It was the kind of look Gilbert had only seen when Matthew was close to breaking down. That transfixed gaze always scared him a lot.

"Hey Birdie… Are you okay?"

Matthew glanced at Gilbert. "Hum?"

"You seem distracted."

"Do I?"

"… Yeah, you do."

"Oh… Let's go to school…" He turned and started to walk away.

Gilbert frowned a little and followed Matthew at a distance. '_What's his problem? He's probably still freaking out about that stupid documentary. That stuff isn't even real anyway. Psychics and other things are just a bunch of bullshit made up by people from the dark ages and desperate people who don't know how to let go of their past… Next thing people will say is that the bogyman is real._'

He didn't notice Matthew had stopped walking and bumped into him. "Sorry Birdie, what's wrong?"

Matthew didn't move. He just stood there. "Why are you walking so far behind me?"

"No real reason." Said Gilbert honestly. "Why did you stop walking?"

"… I was waiting for you to catch up." Whispered Matthew. "Do you think it's getting colder?"

"Ja. Winter's just around the corner… It'll start snowing soon"

"Oh… I thought it felt familiar…"

Gilbert frowned a little. '_Oh, that's right… Matthew was attacked around this time last year. I guess that explains why he's so out of it today._'

Matthew sighed sadly and started walking again. "I guess there's no use remembering the past… We should go to school." The rest of the walk to school was silent. It was a little eerie, but it couldn't be helped. They just didn't seem to be able to talk to each other at the moment. The mood just wasn't right.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When they got to school they departed ways. Gilbert was a little reluctant to let him go, but he knew it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to have a major panic attack for no reason. He sighed a little and started to walk down to his class, but was almost knocked over by a brunet that decided to tackle him in a hug.

Gilbert chuckled a little and looked down at the brunet. "Hey Feli. What's up?" Feli or rather, Feliciano was his brother's best friend. He had mild ADHD but he was a kind and good person at heart. Right now though, he seemed really upset. "Are you crying?"

Feliciano sniffled a little and nodded. "L-Ludwig t-t-told me what h-happened to you… I-I'm so sorry!"

The albino smiled a little and patted Feliciano's head. "No big deal. I'm staying at my boyfriend's place, so it's not like I'm homeless or anything." He slowly pried his way out of the hug.

The brunet wiped his eyes a little. "Well yeah… But… I-it's not fair that they treat you like that… J-just because you're not what they wanted. Th-they are meant to c-care about you!"

Gilbert sighed a little and put on a fake smile. "Hey, it's fine. They don't care about me and I don't care about them… Can you tell Ludwig for me that I'm still alive?"

Feliciano's mood suddenly changed from depressed to hyper and happy again. "Sure I will! Oh, and before I forget, Luddy told me to tell you that your grandpa wants to see you if you come to school today. So you should see him now okay?"

Gilbert groaned in frustration. "Fuck… Not how I was hoping to start this week. Thanks Feli… You should probably get to class or something…"

Feliciano grinned brightly and started to skip down the hall. "Yep! Later Gilbert! Hope today gets better for you!"

"You and me both…" Muttered the albino. He sighed and started to make his way up to his grandfather's office. It was pretty hard to miss. It was in the front office of the school with the block letters that read 'Vice Principle'. The lady at the reception desk smiled a little at Gilbert and nodded towards the door signalling that he could go in. With an inward groaned he knocked on the door and opened it a little. "Hello?"

His grandfather was doing quite well for his age. Amazingly well in fact. He looked very young and quite masculine with facial structure similar to both his father and brother, but he had hair like Legolas from Lord of the Rings. Both Ludwig and Gilbert suspected that perhaps their grandparents got married at an exceptionally young age and perhaps forced into getting married if their grandmother got pregnant. Not surprisingly the elder never admitted to anything.

His grandfather was looking over some paperwork. "Ja, come in and sit down. Close the door behind you."

Gilbert nodded and quickly did that. He took a seat in the chair across from his grandfather. He couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by him. '_Am I in trouble with him? Is he upset with me?_'

His grandfather sighed, putting down the paperwork and his glasses. "Are you okay? I heard about what happened."

The albino gulped a little and looked down at the floor. "Oh… Am I in trouble?"

"No. As far as I'm concerned you're not in the wrong." Said his grandfather sternly. "I just want to know if you're okay… Where have you been sleeping? Are you okay?"

"Ja… I'm fine." Said Gilbert quietly. "I've been staying at my boyfriend's place for the last two days and I'm going to stay there until they leave… When are they leaving?"

"They'll be gone by Friday." He said. "… You have a boyfriend?"

Gilbert nodded a little. "Y-yeah, Matthew… Matthew Williams… He's the um… the guy that got attacked l-last year…"

"I know." Said his grandfather. "I had to arrange studies and classes for him to do so he wouldn't fall behind. You two have been friends for a long time haven't you?"

"Ja." Said Gilbert quietly. He couldn't help but feel small under the older man's gaze. "Are you disappointed in me? Do you hate me for being gay?"

"Not really." Said his grandfather simply. "I honestly couldn't careless as long as you're both happy with each other." Gilbert smiled a little. He was grateful to have his grandfather's approval. It was just something about having his approval that made him feel better. Even if it was just a little bit. "Do you have lunch today? All your books?"

Gilbert nodded quickly. "Ja, I have all the stuff I need in my locker and Matthew was nice enough to make me lunch."

His grandfather nodded and put his glasses back on. It seemed as though he was at the end of this conversation. "If you want to live with me until they leave I don't mind… My door's always open to you and your brother. Just tell your teacher you were with me and I'll confirm it. Try to have a stress free day."

Gilbert nodded and quickly left the room. He had no idea what he had first but he didn't think that anyone would really care if he decided to skip class. The first class was always something boring like maths or geography. He ended up just wandering the halls until second period.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

He gathered his books and slowly made his way to his next class. History. It wasn't the best subject, but it wasn't the worst. At the moment they were looking at Pompeii and Herculaneum. At least that was a little interesting. He sat down at his desk at back of the room and sighed a little. '_I hope Birdie's okay…_'

He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts by a certain Frenchman who had decided to sit next to him. "Are you okay?" He asked. "I heard about what happened… I'm sorry you can't stay over."

Gilbert shrugged. "It's fine… I'm staying at Birdie's place for the week."

"So his uncle let you stay over?" Asked Francis. He sounded rather surprised.

"Heck no." Said Gilbert. "I'm hiding in Matthew's room. Thank fuck he always locks his door or the big bad uncle would have probably found me and castrated me by now."

"… I take it he still doesn't like you very much."

"Nope."

"Oh well. It's a given." Muttered Francis. "… Hey, if you two are sharing a room, does that mean you are sharing a bed? If so have you two done it yet?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I'm sleeping on an inflatable mattress and he slept on it with me for the first night. Also we haven't had sex yet and I'm fine with that… Though we did have a bath together."

"And no awkward boners?" Asked Francis in shock. He looked utterly dumbfounded. "W-what? How is that even possible? You have been on love with him for ages! How could neither of you? It's not possible!"

The albino shrugged and leaned back in his chair a little. "Well I've been taking care of him for a while so I just don't really think seeing him naked is such a big deal…"

"Mother instincts?"

"Probably, but I don't mind." Said Gilbert. "At least this means I won't get some weird boner every time I see him naked… Unlike a certain someone that got one while flipping through the biology text book."

"One time…" Muttered Francis. "One fucking time and you hold it against me forever."

"Damn straight." Said Gilbert. He yawned a little and opened up his text book. "Now onto more pressing matters… What was the graffiti found in the bath houses in Herculaneum? Something about some guy having an orgy with some chicks?"

Francis chuckled a little. "Yes… You didn't do your homework did you?"

"Not one word." Said Gilbert with a grin. Francis rolled his eyes and passed his book over to his friend who eagerly took it and started writing. "Thanks again."

"Don't mention it." Francis looked up at the board and sighed. "Looks like we're looking at daily life again… Bet the number of brothels that may or may not be there will come up again?"

"Don't know. Don't care." Muttered Gilbert as he quickly scribbled down the answers about health and sanitation. "Just don't get an awkward boner if the teacher shows us mosaics of people getting blow jobs."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Most of the day continued in much the same way. Which was surprisingly nice. It was around lunch time that drama really started to happen. Well, it wasn't really drama, it was just something different. Gilbert sighed a little as he sat at a table with Antonio and Francis. All previous drama from the weekend had died away and idle words took their place.

"Lovino's so mean sometimes." Sighed Antonio sadly. "I have no idea what we are anymore… Are we friends? Boyfriends? Lovers? He's so confusing sometimes… It's hard."

"Acting cold towards you again is he?" Asked Francis. "Colder than usual?"

"Si. I don't know what I did!" Whined Antonio. "Somehow I know that this is all my fault!"

"Talk things over with him." Said Gilbert. "That will be easier than trying to guess what you did… and give him something too, like food. Him and his brother are gluttons at the best of times. Something sweet maybe?"

Francis nodded in agreement. "Oui, speaking of sweet food… Where's Matthew?"

"… Did you just compare Birdie to something like chocolate?" Asked Gilbert. He wasn't amused.

The Frenchman nodded. "Oui. I don't think he's in here."

Gilbert frowned a little and looked around the cafeteria. Francis was right. Matthew was nowhere to be seen. "Maybe I should look for him… It's unusual for him to be so late for lunch or whatever…" He quickly wolfed down the rest of his food and got up. "Later guys."

His friends bid him goodbye as he left the room in search for Matthew. Before things happened, Matthew wasn't a very social person. He still wasn't but that was beside the point. The point was that the blond would hide himself away in quiet spots around the school, be it an unused classroom, the library or some other place.

He decided to check the library first, seeing as how it was closest. He was surprised to walk right into Matthew who was coming out of said library, carrying a stack of books, that were now on the floor.

"Fuck, sorry Birdie." Said Gilbert quickly. He crouched down and started to gather them along with Matthew.

"I-it's fine." Whispered Matthew quietly. "J-just don't do that again…"

Gilbert nodded a little and quickly glanced over the covers of some of the books that Matthew had borrowed. He expected them to be on things that he was studying, but he was wrong. '_… Books on the Salem witch trials? Witch craft? Demons? Ghosts? Th-these are all occult books… Why?_'

Before he could look at the books any closer, Matthew quickly pulled them out of his hands and held them close to his chest. "Th-thanks… I-I have to g-go now…" He quickly stood up and walked down the hall.

"W-wait!" Called Gilbert. He quickly got up and started to follow Matthew. "What's with all the occult all of a sudden?"

"No reason." Said Matthew quietly. "J-just some i-interesting r-reading… That's all."

"Oh, really?" Asked Gilbert sceptically.

"Yes, really."

The albino crossed his arms, unimpressed. "You're going that thing you do when you lie to me. The stutter. You never do that unless you're nervous or you're not telling the truth. Why do you have all that?"

Matthew frowned a little and stopped walking. "It's nothing to do with you, so just leave me alone about it." He kept his eyes on the floor as he spoke. He didn't seem to be able to look Gilbert in the eye.

Gilbert sighed and put his hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Birdie, why are you getting so defensive? I just want to know if something's wrong… I mean, you seemed a little out of it since yesterday after noon and then this morning. I can kind of guess why you were a little off this morning, but you'll be okay. I'll protect you from whatever's out to get you, so don't worry about it."

"… Thank you." Whispered Matthew. He shrugged Gilbert's hand off and looked at him. His eyes seemed dead and lifeless now. It was like how he was back then. "But I want to protect you too… so please… just mind your own business for once… Just let me have something I can keep to myself… I don't have to share everything with you just because you're my boyfriend!"

Gilbert backed off a little. "I never said you had to share everything… I just thought… Never mind. I understand."

"Thank you." Mumbled Matthew. "After school I'll be at the library for about half an hour. You're welcome to wait with me or you can just do whatever you want… you usually do." He started to walk away, leaving Gilbert to stand alone in the hallway. Unsure of what to do.

He growled a little and ran his fingers through his hair. '_What the hell? He's always okay when he's with me, but he acts like a completely different person when I'm gone… It's almost like there are two Matthew's sometimes._' It was a little annoying when Matthew acted this way, but there had to be a reason for it. The problem was that Gilbert had no idea what that problem was or how he could even come close to fixing it.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **So yeah… Please review?


	24. Panic Attack

**Shinigami-cat: **I really can't believe that I wrote this chapter so quickly. Well, I guess when you have a really good idea, that's just what happens… I OWN NOTHING!

**Panic Attack**

In all honestly he didn't like pushing Gilbert away, but sometimes he just had to. '_Kuma said that people that get a high score on that light box test thing are supposed to be psychics… So I guess I'm meant to have some kind of powers... I just have no idea what kind though… Maybe I can see ghosts or something? That would explain stuff… but it's so confusing._'

Matthew had so many questions and hardly an answers. He was sitting in the library, flicking through some of the books he borrowed while listening to some music on his iPod. He wasn't surprised that Gilbert hadn't decided to join him. He was rude to him. He would have to make it up to him somehow.

The blond sighed and rested his chain against the table. Sitting across from him was Kuma. The bear seemed to be looking through a picture book of some sort. "I feel guilty."

"Why?" Asked Kuma, not looking up from his book.

"I pushed Gilbert away when he was worried about me."

"So?"

"I shouldn't have done that."

"Why?"

"Because it was rude."

"Why?"

"Because he was worried about me and I wanted nothing to do with him."

Kuma shrugged and looked up at Matthew. "So? You just don't want to talk to him about psychic's and supernatural stuff. You're just worried that he'll think you're a freak for suddenly getting interested in that stuff… Trust me, if he still likes you even after all the crazy stuff that's happened around you he isn't going to think you're a freak."

"I guess you're right…" Muttered Matthew. "B-but what if he already thinks I'm a freak? What if he's just dating me out of pity or something?"

"You're getting worked up over nothing." Said Kuma calmly. He crawled over to Matthew and patted his head. "He likes you. He always has. Just take deep breaths. You just need to remind yourself that he loves you and wants what's best for you… You just pushed him away because you don't want him to worry about you."

"I guess…" Matthew yawned a little as he sat up and stretched his back. "Do you know what kind of psychics there are? All I know is that there's the kinds that move stuff, read minds and talk to spirits."

"There's a lot of different kinds." Said Kuma. "I don't remember what they are called exactly, but there are the kinds that can see things others can't, ones that read people's minds, ones that move stationary stuff, ones that move moving things and ones that can influence living things."

Matthew nodded. He kind of understood what Kuma was saying. "Oh… So what about grandma? What did she have?"

Kuma scratched his chin in thought. "Well… She was really good at everything apart from the one where you move objects that are already in motion… So you might have all that kind of stuff too. That would be cool."

"Yeah… but how can something like psychic powers skip a generation?" Asked Matthew. He still wasn't sure how that worked at all.

Kuma sighed dramatically and fell backwards. "Useless!" He cried. "It's useless to try and explain this to you! Don't you know anything about genetics? This is high school genetics 101! Let's talk pea plants for a second. Breed a tall plant and a short one together and all the offspring will be tall. Breed those tall ones again with no short ones you'll end up with the majority being tall and a small few being short ones because of the grandparent that was short. It's a recessive gene."

"You don't have to be rude about it." Muttered Matthew. "I'm still not even sure what you're talking about but I think I sort of get it… maybe… not really… This is all confusing."

Kuma shook his head. "Nope. You're just dumb."

"Thanks for that."

"Any time… Who are you again?"

Matthew sighed and packed up his books. It was about time for him to head back home anyway. Hopefully Gilbert would be walking back with him too. He put his books into his bag and quickly stuffed Kuma in there too, much to the bear's dismay and started to walk to the front of the school.

It was oddly chilling to walk down the hall alone after school, sure there were a couple of clubs going, but it wasn't like there were large groups of people around. It was a little creepy, but Matthew didn't mind.

As he started to walk down the hall he was a little surprised that his footsteps sounded louder than normal in the empty hallway. It wasn't really something drastic, he just thought it was weird that his footsteps sounded louder than they should have. He easily brushed it off and continued to walk.

'_I'm just being paranoid._' He thought. It was weird to think about the loudness of footsteps, if not completely pointless. Matthew chuckled a little at himself for being so stupid about the situation. He was just a little put off because all the things he had been reading. He did his best to try to put the sound of his footsteps out of his mind, but much like the rhythmical ticking of a clock once heard it was impossible to ignore.

Matthew could have lived with that, but what he couldn't live with was the sudden out of sync footsteps that would happen every so often and stop as soon as he stopped walking. Several times he called out and asked if someone was there. He never got a response. It scared him. '_Run._' He thought. '_Just run._'

As he slowly started to pick up his pace, so did the extra set of footsteps. It ended abruptly when he pushed open the doors of the school and bolted outside. It was only out there in the cold crisp air with the cry of birds and the sound of tires driving by that everything was quieter.

He panted heavily and almost screamed when he felt a hand on his back. "G-Gil?"

Gilbert's eyes were full of concern. "I was just about to look for you… Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I um… I-I wasn't s-sure w-where you were…" Mumbled Matthew quickly. "I-I'm sorry about before… I-I know you w-weren't t-trying to do anything I-I didn't m-mean to get offended or anything…"

The albino smiled a little. "I get that you're going through a lot of stuff at the moment, just don't try to keep me out. Okay?"

"Yeah… let's just go home now." Said Matthew quietly. He practically attached himself to Gilbert's arm. He didn't really want to cling onto him so tightly, but he was still spooked by the sound of footsteps that he heard. His over active imagination was not a good thing.

Gilbert frowned a little and patted the top of his head. "Okay Birdie… We'll do whatever you want."

The walk home was very quiet and full of the chatter of mindless birds and the whispers of the wind. It all made Matthew's head spin for no reason. His stomach was turning and he felt like he was going to be sick. He felt uneasy. It was horrible. His imagination was all too much. He was slowly working himself into a fit. This wasn't good.

'_Why does this keep happening?_' He wondered to himself sadly. '_Damn it… I-I need to stop acting like this. No one will ever be able to protect me forever! I have to learn how to fight for myself… Damn it. I'm about as able to defend myself as much as wet cotton._'

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When they eventually got back to the house Gilbert quickly snuck around the back towards Matthew's room. Matthew smiled a little and went inside. He grabbed a bag of chips from the kitchen and walked back to his room. Once there he opened the window and let Gilbert in.

"Was he not home?" Asked Gilbert.

Matthew shook his head. "Nope. I wasn't sure if he was… This is just safer you know?" When Gilbert was inside, Matthew closed the window and held up the chips. "Hungry?"

Gilbert shrugged and flopped down onto Matthew's bed and slipped off his backpack. "Not really… So why did you get all those books?"

"… I just want to do a bit of research." Said Matthew quietly. He sat down next to Gilbert and opened the chips. He ate a couple of them, not looking at Gilbert. "I-I just… I want to… I want to learn about psychic powers because of the light box test we did… I s-scored really high a-and I-I-I want to know if I'm really a psychic…"

"Really?" Asked Gilbert. He didn't sound too excited about it, but he seemed mildly interested. "Why do you want to know all that?"

"I just… I want to know about my grandmother…" Said Matthew quietly. "I thought that this might be the best way to go about it… and I really want to know if I have any powers…"

Gilbert sighed a little and rolled over onto his back. "Birdie… all that psychic stuff is fake. There's no strange or unnatural entity out there. It's all fake. A trick."

"Not everything is logical or explained by science." Muttered Matthew quietly.

"Give me one good example of something that is illogical but has happened."

Matthew thought it over for a little bit before nodding. "Okay. I can give you two examples. Firstly, the fire that killed my parents. No chemicals, gasses or electrical faults were found to start it. Also the point of ignition was in a place where nothing like that was found. Strangest of all I survived the fire… my parents didn't. Explain that with logic."

Gilbert frowned a little. He started intently at the ceiling, trying to think of a way that made everything Matthew had said logical. "Um… if there was a reflective glass or something and a light source the light could have been magnified so the fire started that way… You survived because your window might have been open that night and the fire fighters were able to get to you quickly."

The blond shrugged. That explanation was logical, but it still had lots of flaws in it that easily pulled Gilbert's theory apart. But he would let him have that for now.

"Okay then… Second one, I got attacked by something that is supposedly some kind of bear last year, but the cuts on my body were consistent with knife marks. Logically one would expect that it was a human that did it, but there were no human tracks to be found, besides my own and there were no animal tracks or even reports of large, clawed animals being in the area… What attacked me?"

Gilbert looked at Matthew in shock. It didn't seem like he expected the blond to ask that question at all. In fact, Gilbert seemed to shrink under Matthew's gaze at the question. Gilbert looked away from Matthew. "I… I don't know… Do we really need to talk about that? It's unpleasant memories for both of us…"

"Yeah…" Muttered Matthew softly. They sat in silence for a little while. It wasn't a pleasant one, nor was it uncomfortable. It was just there. All to soon that silence was broken with the sound of feet walking up the hall and the sound of Samuel's voice as it drew closer and closer to Matthew's room.

"Fuck!" Hissed Gilbert. He quickly got up and tried to make a dash towards the morgue, but there was no time. By the time he stood up the door was slowly opening. Matthew gulped and quickly pushed Gilbert onto the floor with his bag. He hoped that Gilbert would get the hint and crawl under the bed.

The door opened and Samuel poked his head in. "Hey kiddo…" He said. "Have a good day at school?"

Matthew smiled a little and nudged Gilbert's side with his foot until he was completely under the bed and took his bag with him. "Y-yeah… It was a little cold, but otherwise fine… I actually want to ask you something."

This made Samuel frown a little, but he nodded. He walked into Matthew's room and sat next to him on his bed. "What's wrong?"

The smaller blond bit his lip nervously and looked down. "W-well… The other night when you were out I w-was watching T-TV and there was this d-documentary a-about psychics…" He could feel the tension in the air getting thicker. With each word that passed his lips he could tell that his uncle was getting more and more tense about the situation. "W-why didn't you tell me that m-my grandma was a psychic?"

"… Because you didn't need to know." Said Samuel quietly. "I still don't believe she was a psychic. In my opinion she was just a crazy old woman who was off her rocker." He snorted a little and crossed his arms. "She was always going on about things that weren't real… bad omens, good omens, ghosts especially… Those things don't exist."

"Why are you so sceptical?" Cried Matthew. His heart was starting to pound painfully in his chest. "What if she was right and there are ghosts and other things? What if… what if that thing that attacked me was a ghost? It's following me again I just know it! It won't stop until it's killed me! What did I do? What the hell did I ever do to deserve this? I-I don't understand what's happening to me!" He started to hyperventilate a little. He knew he was panicking for no reason but he didn't care. Fuck logic. His own mind was terrifying him with new possibilities and reasons for his attack.

He yelped a little when he felt hands grabbing at his writs and those same hands pinning him against the bed. "Calm down!" Said Samuel in a stern, yet concerned voice. "J-just take a few deep breaths and stop pulling out your hair!"

Matthew quickly looked at his hands, surprised and horrified to see that he was tightly clutching some of his own hair. The ends of some of it were slightly bloodied, indicating that he actually pulled with enough force to tare his skin. He slowly released his grip and let the strands fall from his grip onto his bed. He wasn't scared anymore, or terrified or any other emotion. He just felt numb. Like the sudden shock and stress of it all had shut his body down. The most accurate description would probably be a conscious coma.

Samuel cursed a little and gently shook Matthew, calling out his name a few times. "Matthew! Matthew! Come on, focus! Matthew! Look at me damn it! Shit…" He quickly got up and kicked the side of the bed. "Hey! Get your dumb albino ass out from under there and make sure he stays awake! Your fucking elbow is sticking out stupid!"

"Yes sir!" Came Gilbert's slightly muffled cry from under the bed as Samuel quickly bolted out of the room. More than likely it was to call a doctor or something.

Matthew didn't move or show any emotion at all. He just laid there. His whole body felt heavy, like all his limbs were made of wood. He felt the bed shift when Gilbert sat next to him. The albino turned his head so that they were facing each other. Gilbert said a few words but Matthew couldn't hear them, though he assumed he might have been saying his name repeatedly, like his uncle had moments before.

His body was slowly shutting down. He could hear his heart beating painfully in his chest. It hurt and made his head feel dizzy. He knew what was going to happen next. It always happened after he had a panic attack like this. He would slip into unconsciousness and wake up minutes or hours later. He would probably burst into tears.

As his vision slowly went out of focus he noticed a tall black shape out of the corner of his eye. The towering figure was too tall to stand upright in the room. It had to bend over slightly. It was back. Out of his nightmares and back into reality.

Just seeing it made Matthew's body tremble all over again in new, more terrifying waves of panic. '_W-what is it doing here? C-can't Gilbert see it? It's right there! IT'S RIGHT THERE!_'

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **And back to horror… please review?


	25. Trees and Snow

**Shinigami-cat: **I was listening to way to many depressing songs lately, I don't know why… I OWN NOTHING!

**Trees and Snow**

Gilbert was in shock. He couldn't believe what had happened to Matthew. He hadn't had a panic attack like that in months. He could still remember that dead look in his eyes. It was that emotionless and glazed look in his Birdie's eyes was too similar to that of a corpse. It made Gilbert shiver. He hated that look. It was horrifying.

'_Why did this have to happen to him?_' He thought miserably. He looked down at the white floor of the hospital waiting room. Gilbert was lucky enough for Samuel to actually give him a lift to the hospital in Rivertown.

He could still remember the car ride there. He stayed as quiet as possible, not able to talk to the older man. It didn't seem to matter to either of them if they spoke to each other or not. They were both too worried about Matthew to care about their own disagreements with each other. Gilbert just wished he could see Matthew soon, but they needed to speak with Samuel first.

'_Please be alright._' He thought to himself over and over again. '_Please… I-I can't lose him… Not my precious Birdie… Whatever's watching over him, please keep him safe._' He looked down at Kuma and sighed a little. He had decided to grab the bear before leaving. He hoped that could give it to Matthew if he was allowed to see him.

He squeezed the bear's stomach a little. "It's not fair…" He whispered. "Why does Matthew have to suffer like this? What the hell did he ever do?" He dug his nails into the toy, growling a little. As he did this he happened to feel something hard inside the stuffed animal.

Curiously he shifted the shape closer to the fur and felt around it. It was hard and flat like a coin of some sort, but it was too thick. He couldn't tell what it was but he thought it might be metallic or made of glass. '_… What the hell is this? Is this supposed to be Kuma's heart or something symbolic like that?_'

Suddenly Samuel sat down in the chair next to Gilbert, making the albino teen jump. "H-how's Matthew?"

"They are keeping him over night." Muttered Samuel. He sighed a little, running his fingers through his hair. "They have no idea what's wrong with him… Physically he's fine, but he's just not all there in the head… Shit, is he going to be like this forever?"

Gilbert gritted his teeth a little. "No… I think it's just the time of year that's been getting him down. "He… he's just paranoid about everything because he got attacked around the same time last year… and getting into all that supernatural stuff isn't helping him either."

"Yeah… Fucking damn it." He growled darkly and looked over at Gilbert. "Why were you sneaking around my house?"

Deciding it would be best to come clean, Gilbert told Samuel everything. "My parents came back, found out I was gay and dating someone that used to be in an asylum… Let's just say that they were less than impressed. My friends couldn't let me stay with them so Matthew's been hiding me in his room so I had somewhere to stay. He didn't want you to get angry at him for helping me."

After that things between them got painfully quiet. Neither of them seemed to have anything else to say to each other anymore. They both sat their quietly as nurses and patients went about their business.

After what seemed like hours a nurse walked over to Samuel, smiling a little. "He's awake now. You can go and see him if you like. I'll take you to his room."

"Thanks." Muttered Samuel he stood up and sighed a little. "You coming too Gilbert?" Gilbert nodded and quickly flowed Samuel and the nurse to Matthew's room.

"Before you go in I should warn you both that he's… not quite all there." Said the nurse.

"What do you mean?" Asked Samuel. "Is he in a coma?"

The nurse shook her head sadly. "Not really… He's awake and all his vital signs are functioning properly, he's just not responding to anything. It's like the lights are on but no one's home. It's a mental issue and he might need to be moved to a special ward." Gilbert didn't like the sound of that. He knew she actually meant an asylum. She opened the door and let them both inside.

Sitting up on the bed was Matthew. He was leaning back a bit against the headboard and gazing emotionlessly out the window. The hospital gown he was wearing was just slightly too large on his small frame, making him look even smaller. He looked like a doll. It was scary.

Samuel was the first to move. He sat on the chair next to Matthew's bed and gently put his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Hey, Matthew? Can you hear me?" The teen didn't respond. "You're going to have to stay here for a while… I-I'll visit you when I can… Just get better okay?" He slowly got up and walked towards the door. "I'm going to talk to the doctors for a bit…"

When he was gone, Gilbert walked over to Matthew. "Birdie? I brought Kuma for you."

He held out the bear for Matthew to take, but the blond didn't even seem to notice. If it wasn't for the fact that he was blinking every so often and his chest was rising and falling with each breath the albino would have thought that this was nothing more than a well-made doll. With a small sigh, Gilbert put Kuma on Matthew's lap and placed on of Matthew's hands on it to stop it from falling over.

It was such a sad and pathetic image. It just made Gilbert's heart break. "Birdie please, say my name or even look at me… Give me some sign that you're still here with me… Please?"

Matthew's gaze remained unmoving and he continued to stay still. This was really scaring Gilbert. When Matthew had previous panic attacks he would always be relatively normal after, but this time it was different and Gilbert had no idea what he could do to fix it.

He sighed sadly and sat in the chair next to Matthew. He took Matthew's fee hand in his own and gently squeezed, half hoping that he would get a response from him. He knew that it was pointless, but hope was all he had. '_Why are you like this? Matthew… Birdie… please… Do something, anything. Please?_' He pressed Matthew's knuckles against his lips. '_I love you so much Birdie… Please don't be like this… I'll wait forever for you to come back to me._' He smiled a little. '_Almost sounds like he's going to die or something._'

He shivered a little at that thought. He didn't want something like that to happen to Matthew. He didn't even want to contemplate such a thing. "This has never happened to you before… Why now? Can't you just pull this kind of stuff on me now… You were getting better damn it. Don't leave me here alone…"

Gilbert looked up at Matthew's emotionless face, sighing sadly. He wanted there to be some kind of response, but there wasn't. Matthew was just gazing off out the window with his lifeless gaze. Gilbert bit his lip a little and followed Matthew's gaze out the window. There wasn't much to see, just a few buildings and the forest. There was always the forest.

He looked back at Matthew. '_Life isn't fair is it?_' Gilbert reached out and gently caressed Matthew's face, he still felt warm to the touch but at the same time he still felt too cold. It made Gilbert's heart sink deep in his chest. It was painful to see him like that. He slowly leaned forwards and gently kissed Matthew on the lips. He pulled back and sighed sadly. Matthew's expression remained unchanged.

"I don't know what I was expecting…" Muttered Gilbert sadly. "Damn it Matthew, what happened to you? Just come back to me already!" With no response at all the albino decided to leave. "I'm sorry Birdie… I really am." He got up and started to walk to the door. There wasn't anything else he could do for him.

"… Trees… Under the trees…"

Gilbert turned around quickly. It was quiet, but he had heard it loud and clear. Matthew had said something. Yet he still looked like a lifeless rag doll. Unmoving and unchanging. It was chilling, but Gilbert couldn't just let it slid. He walked back over to Matthew and cupped his face, gently tilting his head to face him. "B-Birdie? Did you say something?"

Matthew just looked at him with dead, lifeless eyes. There was no emotion behind them at all. With a heavy heart he let go of Matthew's head, watching it flop back into the ever present gaze out the window. Gilbert frowned a little and looked back out the window. '_Trees?_'

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Once Gilbert was back he grabbed his things from Samuel's house and decided to make his way to his grandfather's house. He doubted that Samuel would have let him stay any longer. With a heavy heart he knocked on the front door and waited to be let in.

When the door opened his grandfather looked at him in mild shock. "Gilbert? What are you…?" His eyes wandered to Gilbert backpack and he nodded knowingly. "I see… You know where your room is."

Gilbert smiled weakly and slowly made his way inside. In his grandfather's house his room was on the bottom level. Not that he minded that much. As long as he had somewhere to stay he was fine. When he got to his room he flopped down on the bed and sighed miserably. All he could think about was Matthew's lifeless body and cold, empty eyes. It made him sick to his stomach.

He wasn't sure how long he was there for but he must have been there for an hour or something, but it must have been a very long time because his grandfather came in to check on him. "Gilbert? Are you hungry?"

Gilbert sighed and hid his eyes with his forearm. "Nein… I feel sick."

"… Do you want to talk about what happened?" His grandfather was not a very emotional person. If he was willing to discuss something it just showed how concerned he really was. Gilbert appreciated the gesture.

"Matthew had a mental breakdown." Muttered Gilbert. He choked back something that sounded similar to a sob and gritted his teeth. "He was getting better damn it. Why the hell does this keep happening to him? He looked like a damn corpse in the hospital! Matthew… Birdie… It's not fair!"

His grandfather sighed a little. "Life isn't fair… But he will get better. Just give it some time. I'm guessing he's still there? In the hospital I mean."

"Ja… Why does he have to look so dead? What did he ever do?" Gilbert's words were coming out more like growls now. "They said they might send him back to that godless asylum… If he went back there he'll never get better. He'll just stay there and get worse and worse until he dies! It's not fucking fair damn it! If I could take his place I would."

"Don't say that!" Snapped his grandfather. "Stop acting like this! There's no reason to act like this! How can you expect to help him if you're depressed and wishing for things that haven't happened?"

Gilbert growled a little and rolled over onto his side. "Just… just leave me alone damn it… I just… I want to be left alone for a while, okay? Today's just been too much…"

His grandfather sighed a little and left Gilbert alone. "If you care about him so much you'll get your act together for him."

When he was gone, Gilbert rolled back onto his back and looked back up at the ceiling. He knew his grandfather was right. He wanted to help Matthew in any way he could and he couldn't do that while he was a nervous wreck. He would have to put all that emotional baggage behind and get his head back in the game.

'_Okay… no more depressing thoughts. Birdie needs my help and I need to figure out how to do that… I just have no idea how to do that at all._' He bit his bottom lip and knitted his eyebrows together in frustration. He wanted Matthew to get better as quickly as possible. He never wanted him to go to that asylum again. '_Damn it… What can I do? What can I do to make him better? Why is there never an easy solution to this?_'

He gritted his teeth. He let his mind wander back to the words he thought he heard Matthew mutter before he left. "Fuck. Why the hell was he talking about trees? Was he even talking about them? This is so frustrating! Trees, trees, trees! Fucking trees! What the hell? Why the hell? Fuck it! I'm getting frustrated over nothing! It's not like this is The Evil Dead!"

Trees were nothing he should have been concerned about. They were just plants. Plats that were just rooted there to the ground. Though he did have to admit that the forest did look very foreboding at night.

He rolled onto his stomach and kicked off his shoes. It was pretty late at night and he assumed that his grandfather wouldn't let him skip school for no good reason. '_I need to get some sleep… Maybe I'll figure out how to help Matthew tomorrow? I hope so…_' With much effort, Gilbert fell into an uneasy sleep.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Without much thought or reason, Gilbert's dream started off with him sitting in a boat that had run aground along the banks of a river. With not much idea where he was, the albino got out of the boat and started to walk around a bit. He was surrounded by tall trees that were deprived their leaves. Probably winter time.

As he continued to walk he noticed the ground started to change. It was no longer dirt, but slowly became covered in a thin layer of snow. '_Weird? Why am I dreaming of snow?_' The glistening, white snow seemed to make a small pathway through the forest. A trail if you would. Curiosity getting the better of him, Gilbert followed.

While following the snow path he took time to look at the trees. They seemed be burnt. Some of their ash mixing in with the snow, turning it black as night. It was creepy, but oddly beautiful. A white light floating by the trees drew Gilbert's attention away from the snow. It looked like a firefly, but larger and more smoky.

The little light payed no attention to Gilbert and slowly drifted along the path. If the albino looked down the path he would see more and more of these lights bobbing down the path. They seemed to be going somewhere specific.

Frowning a little, Gilbert followed them. '_Where are they going? What are they doing?_'

More of these strange ghostly white lights appeared further along the path. It was like these creatures were drawn to it for some reason. Gilbert tried his best not to touch them in case they decided to attack, but they just didn't seem to care. Even if he walked into one it just seemed to flow past his skin, similar to fog. It was strangely beautiful.

After what seemed like forever the lights seemed to congregate around a tree before slowly making their way up to the sky. The snow path made a large ring around the tree, dipping around a mound of black earth. Gilbert looked closely at the tree, noting how it curved and beat in peculiar ways . It reminded him a little of Tim Burton's signature creepy tree that's in every one of his movies. But it reminded him of somewhere else. Someplace he had been to many times before. He shrugged it off. It wasn't important at the moment.

He drew his attention away from the tree for a second to look at the mound of dirt. It looked like it was completely made of ash and there seemed to be something oozing out of it. Gilbert took a hand full of snow and sprinkled it on top to see what colour it turned. It slowly turned blood red. There was blood oozing out of the ground.

Gilbert's eyes widened in shock. "W-what the hell?"

He slowly reached out to couch the ash, but before he could an skeleton's shot out of the grave and grabbed his wrist in a death grip. Gilbert screamed and tried to pull his arm away but it was no use. The skeleton wasn't letting him go anywhere. Slowly the arm tightened its grip, bones started to grow knife ravaged skin and fingers turned to knifes, easily cutting into Gilbert's flesh. It had him.

With one last powerful tug, Gilbert pulled his arm out of the creature's grip, cutting his hand off in the process. As the albino's blood mixed with the black and white snow his vision blurred and he fainted.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Gilbert woke up with a gasp. That dream was freaky and bazar. "W-what the fuck just happened? It… It got me but…" He looked down at his hand and his blood went ice cold. There were thin paper cuts along his wrist where the creature had gripped him. "H-how?"

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Yep… Please review?


	26. Inside the Mind

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… now time for more stuff. Just to let you all know I was listening to the Taylor Swift song Safe and Sound while writing this… I OWN NOTHING!

**Inside the Mind**

Cold. Where he was right now was cold. He was sitting on a flat patch of grey earth under the grey sky. He had no energy to move, nor did feel the need to. Matthew just felt drained both emotionally and physically.

'_Where am I?_' He wondered. '_This place is so weird… It's strange._' He slowly blinked a couple of times, very slowly. He half hoped that if he did that something would change. It never did. With a sad sigh he fell backwards and closed his eyes.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but the feel of something damp against his face made him open his eyes. A big, black, wet nose was nudging him. Matthew blinked in surprise and slowly sat back up. Looked down at him was a giant polar bear. "W-who are you?"

The bear tilted it's head a little. "I'm Kuma. Who are you?"

"K-Kuma?" Asked Matthew in shock. "You got big."

The polar bear shrugged and grabbed Matthew by the back of his shirt, pulling him into a standing position. "I know I'm Kuma… The question is who are you."

Matthew chuckled a little at this. He was glad Kuma was with him. "Matthew… My name is Matthew."

"… Okay. Follow me. I don't like this place." Kuma turned and started to slowly trudge away across the barren landscape. With no other option, Matthew had no choice but to follow the bear.

"Where are we going?" Asked Matthew curiously. There didn't seem to be an end to this vast landscape.

"We're going to see her." Said Kuma happily.

"Who?"

"Your grandmother."

Matthew stopped walking, his eyes widening in horror. "G-grandma? But she's… Am I dead?"

Kuma looked over his shoulder at Matthew and shrugged. "Are you? Are you dead or are you just sleeping? Reality it just what you make it… After all you made this place didn't you? You made this place out of nothing… How must you be feeling if this place is nothing but empty and grey?"

"You're here aren't you?" Asked Matthew, slightly confused.

The bear shrugged and kept walking. "Perhaps… perhaps not. Who can tell? Isn't it as clear as crystal? Let's keep going… Jacqueline hasn't seen you in so long. She misses you."

The rest of the walk was relatively quiet. The silence was only broken by their footsteps and the soft singing of a woman. When the woman got into view Matthew was surprised. She didn't look like an old woman at all. She looked like a beautiful young woman with flowing blond hair that seemed to float in the air while she hovered inches above the ground in a white robe. Whatever she was singing sounded like it was in some kind of made up language.

Matthew was hesitant to approach the woman, but Kuma happily walked up to her and gently rubbed his head against her hand. The woman chuckled a little and gently patted him. "Hello Kumajiro, how are you?"

"I'm good." Said the bear. He yawned a little and curled up on the ground. "He's here."

The woman turned around and looked at Matthew with a warm smile on her face. She approached him and embraced him on a hug. "Matthew… My precious grandson… You turned out so beautifully… I'm sorry about the pain you suffered. Not even I could have foreseen such events."

"So are you really my grandmother?" Whispered Matthew quietly.

The woman chuckled and pinched Matthew's cheeks. "Of course it's me you cheeky little stick. Hasn't Samuel been feeding you or have you just refused to eat? Get more meat on your bones." She looked over at Kuma and frowned. "You were meant to be his guardian! What happened?"

Kuma shrugged and rested his head against the ground. "I did what I could with the powers I had… I'm just trying to make him happy now. He has a boyfriend."

Jacqueline's eyes widened a little. "Oh, a boyfriend? How wonderful! Love is love no matter what gender." She giggled. "I remember my younger and wilder days… I did like to experiment… But enough about me." She turned back to Matthew and smiled warmly. "Is there anything you need to talk to me about dear?"

Matthew nodded a little. "Y-yeah… Am I… Am I a psychic?"

The woman nodded happily. "Yep. As soon as your mother was pregnant I could just tell you were something special… Kind of upset that Samuel doesn't believe, but there's nothing one can do with sceptics is there?"

"What kind of psychic am I?" Asked Matthew quickly. He was a little excited about this.

Jacqueline frowned a little and crossed her arms. "Why do you want to know that? You're a psychic. Isn't that enough for you?"

"But I need to know!" Cried Matthew. "If I don't find out what kind I am I can't stop that thing from killing me!"

"I see… so you want to save your own skin. That's pretty selfish of you."

Matthew shook his head. He was becoming frantic at this point. "B-but it might kill someone else after it kills me! I-I don't know if it's killed before me, but no one else needs to die because of it!"

Jacqueline contemplated this for a moment and sighed a little. "Matthew… It has murdered many times before it tried to kill you." Matthew's eyes widened in shock. "That ghost stabs young men and women to death and leaves their bloodied and mangled corpses in shallow graves. It's the ghost of a girl who died a violent death while her lover hung himself because he was overcome with grief. As a consequence every ten years or so two people Cutter Valley die. Both are murdered, but one always looks like suicide."

Matthew just looked at her in horror. "S-suicide? But no one… no one's even attempted suicide! N-not that I know of any way…"

"Really?" Asked Jacqueline. She obviously didn't look like she believed him. "The suicide victim is always someone very close to whoever gets murdered… Who is the closest person to you?"

He didn't even need a moment to think about it. He knew who it was. '_Gilbert… But how? What the hell? When did he try? There's not one time when he could have unless…_' His eyes went wide with realization.

"Do you know who was meant to commit suicide this time?" Asked his grandmother calmly.

"Gilbert… After I got attacked by that thing, Gilbert smashed all the windows in the school and hurt some people. He broke into the science lab and he threw acid everywhere… I think he was meant to drink it and die that way… But he didn't because I wasn't murdered!" He started to hyperventilate a little. "But since I'm here and he's there it will get Gilbert! I have to save him! He's going to die!"

He turned around and started running, but stoped when he realized that he had no idea where he was, how he got there or how he could even get back. He felt a pair of arms around His shoulders. "Matthew… Do you really want to go back there? If you go back there you might get killed. If you stay here with me you'll always be safe and sound… You'll be alright and never have to face those problems again."

Matthew shook his head. "No. I need to get back there… Gilbert has protected me for so long… it's my turn to save him."

Jacqueline pressed a kiss into the back of Matthew's head. "That's better. Much less selfish… So you wanted to know what kind of psychic powers you have?"

"Oui."

"Good boy." Jacqueline turned Matthew around to face her and smiled warmly at him. "Now, first of all do you know if you have tapped into your psychic powers yet?"

Matthew shook his head sadly. "No… I've never… I haven't used them…"

"Lies." Said Jacqueline coldly. "If you can see a ghost that doesn't want to reveal its self to you that's a psychic power… Most children have this power because they are innocent but lose it later on in life. Admittedly women tend to keep this ability into their young teens while boys seem to lose it by the time they are around eleven, but there are exceptions… Either way. The point is if you can see spirits that's a power."

"But that's useless!" Cried Matthew. "How can I use that to get rid of the ghost? What am I going to do? Stare it to death?"

"Of course not!" Snapped his grandmother. "But you saw it so you know how to defeat it! Study what it looks like and find out how to get rid of it! Look through my old notes and see how I worked. You must do research on when, where and how the person died! Only then can you figure out what you need to do to get rid of it."

"But how the hell can I do that?" Growled Matthew in frustration.

Jacqueline chuckled a little. "Well I did just tell you to check my notes and go through all my old stuff… Some of your grandfather's stuff is there too. He has lots of things to banish spirits. He had lost of connections in eastern countries."

Matthew sighed a little. "Okay… So what now? Is there any possible way to leave here?"

"Yes and no." Said Jacqueline. "Yes there is a way back for you but there's no time for that now… Not while your mind is in such tattered pieces." Matthew gave the woman a confused look so Jacqueline decided to elaborate. "You see… everything around you, apart from Kuma and myself, is part of your fractured imagination. Your mind has been attacked and misshaped so many times it's impossible to tell what it is anymore… As a default your mind has become a blank landscape. It's both a beautiful and scary thing because this means you can become canvas. New things can grow here and you can become whatever you want… You just need to plant the right seed."

She took Matthew's hand in hers, giving him some kind of plant seed. Matthew frowned a little and looked down at the seed in his hand and frowned a little. It was a small speck of black in the palm of his hand. '_What?_'

Noticing his confusion his grandmother sighed a little. "It doesn't matter what the plant is. All that matters is how it's nurtured and raised. Neglect it and abandon it and it will die. Love it and nurture it and it will become big and strong."

Matthew sighed a little and planted the seed in the earth. He wasn't sure what he did that for. This was all so weird to him. This place was unexplainable. After a few moments of nothing happening Matthew looked up at his grandmother in confusion. "And? What's supposed to happen?"

His grandmother sighed a little. "This would have been so much easier if you were raised by your mother… Strong emotions. Love, hate, fear… Those are some of the emotions that shape your personality… What place do you fear the most?"

"… The forest." Whispered Matthew quietly. In an instant a tall tree shot out of the ground where he planted the seed. Then another and another until he was surrounded by hundreds of trees. He was back in that unforgivable forest. He could feel his heart racing painfully in his chest. "No… This isn't funny grandma! Get me out of here!"

"Why do you fear this place?" Asked Jacqueline. Her voice sounded distant.

Matthew gulped. "B-because that thing lives there!" He started to quickly look around in a panic. He needed to find his grandmother soon.

"And why do you fear it?"

"Because it almost killed me!"

"But why didn't it? What stopped it?" She asked. "It's killed hundreds of people before you. Why couldn't you die? What makes you special? How could you stop it if you had no psychic abilities?"

"I… I don't know…" Whispered Matthew quietly. "J-just… just get rid of this place… I-I hate it…"

"Don't hate what you fear." Said his grandmother calmly. "Your fear is masking your true nature. You have to just learn to control it. That creature isn't going to be out there if you don't believe it will be. Control your fear. It's never as bad as you think it is…Besides, you're my grandson! If you can't save yourself from a forest you made in your mind you are quite pathetic. It's only dark and scary if you make it dark and scary. It's all about perspective."

Matthew shook his head quickly. "N-no… I don't care. Please… Just stop this! I want to go home! I want to go home already! I hate it here! Please! Please just stop this!" His ears were met with silence. "Grandma? Kuma? Anyone?"

He shivered a little and gulped. '_I-I'm all alone again… But this time I'm in the forest. It's not fair! Why am I always alone? I guess… I'm always going to be alone… It's just… It's just not fair…_' He sat down and sniffled a little. '_This… what am I meant to do?_' He picked up a rock and looked at it. '_So I'm a psychic? How do I do this? Do I just concentrate on it and make it float or something?_'

He stared at the rock in his hands for a little, imagining it floating just above his hand, but it wasn't working very well. All he got for his trouble was a headache. With a sigh, he put the rock down and looked around a little. His eyes widened a little at the amount of floating objects around him.

"I… I guess I did it…" He moved his hand a little in a sweeping motion. This made the twigs, leaves and rocks shift a little in the air. "I… I can do this… I can do this!" With a small wave of his hand he could move them in any direction he wanted. It was amazing. Being able to move these inanimate objects with his mind was oddly calming. He felt more in control and less afraid. Even if it was just a little bit.

His grandmother chuckled a little and sat next to him. Kuma sat on the other side. "Good job." Said Jacqueline. "Feel a little better now?"

Matthew nodded and patted Kuma. "Yeah… I guess. Can I go back now?"

Jacqueline nodded. "Yes… But you have some other powers…" She leaned over and whispered into Matthew's ear. Once she was done she pulled away and kissed his cheek. "Now when you go back there's a possibility that you'll forget about everything. It's only natural for people to forget about their dreams… SO I've planted a subliminal message in your head so that you'll remember what happened here… So you can save yourself and your boyfriend. If you fail, no one will judge you."

"What's the subliminal message?" Asked Matthew.

Jacqueline grinned. "Sorry, but if I tell you it won't work… Now close your eyes and think of your home… Your family is so proud of you and loves you so much. We are proud of you. Stay safe."

Matthew chuckled a little and smiled. "Thanks Jacqueline… Even though I only knew you for a few years, I'm glad to have met you… You're an amazing person."

He could have sworn the older woman blushed a little. "You're so silly Matthew… Just close your eyes and count a little. You'll be back home in no time… It might be a different day though… It's hard to tell how long one stays here…"

"I see…" Said Matthew as he closed his eyes. "So when I wake up I'll forget everything that's happened now?" His ears were met with silence. "Grandma?"

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

White light and the small of disinfectant were what struck Matthew first. When his eyes adjusted better to his surroundings he realized where he was and groaned inwardly. '_A hospital? Really? How long have I been here?_'

He really didn't know or care too much. In all honesty he just wanted to get back home to Gilbert. All he could remember was how worried Gilbert looked before he lost consciousness.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Yeah… anyway please review?


	27. Awake Yet Not All There

**Shinigami-cat: **I should be doing assignments. I'm going to fail classes this year… I OWN NOTHING!

**Awake Yet Not All There**

He skipped school that day. He didn't feel like trying to pretend that everything was normal. In fact he didn't go to school that much anymore. He preferred the solitude of the forest. Somehow he thought that being surrounded by the trees would help clear his head. He chuckled to himself a little. He could just imagine what Matthew would say if he knew what he was doing. The blond would freak out and do who knows what.

'_Always worrying about something…_' Thought Gilbert sadly. '_I just… damn it. It's not fair… When will he get better? I just… I don't know…_'

He climbed over a fallen tree branch and sighed a little. It had been a week since Matthew had gone catatonic and moved to an asylum. He was grateful that Samuel was keeping him up to date about Matthew's condition, though it was always the same. Unchanged. Sometimes Gilbert would visit, but that was usually when Samuel was there. The only good thing that happened while Matthew was in his parents moving out again. Hopefully they wouldn't come back for a long, long time.

Looking at his surroundings he could tell he was pretty far away from his home town. If he wanted to he could probably just walk to Rivertown and hang around there for a bit. It would be more fun to spend some money in town than walk around the empty forest for hours on end.

There wasn't much point to it though. He really just wanted to see Matthew again without his dead eyes. Those dead eyes and empty body. Like an insect exoskeleton. There but not there. Alive but dead. Sleeping but awake.

He growled a little at himself and leaned against a tree trunk. "Fucking hell… This is stupid. Fucking stupid. I have no idea how to help him. It's just… I just… Fuck."

He didn't know why this was so difficult. He just wanted to see Matthew alive again. Perhaps he could visit Matthew later today. He would love to see him again. He sighed a little and continued his trudge through the forest. Occasionally he would hear the sound of birds fluttering away and the cry of ravens or even crowns.

Gilbert looked up one time to see a group of crows leaving the trees and flying overhead, squawking as they did so. A murder of crows. He always wondered why a group of crows was called such a thing. Crows were amazing birds, just as beautiful and free and awesome as any other bird out there. The way he saw it, birds were creatures that just did what they needed to do. Sure he knew crows were known for being the bearers of bad news and misfortune but he still liked them.

He smiled a little. He would have loved to be able to fly. To be up there in the sky without a care in the world. It would have been amazing. As he thought about this he heard a strangled chirp. Curious he followed the source of the noise until he found a small yellow bird fluttering around a little on the ground in an awkward manner.

"Where did you come from?" Muttered Gilbert. He quickly looked up in the tree branches, there was no full nest in the tree, but if he looked carefully he could see a broken nest. It was either blown apart by a strong gust of wind or attacked by a cat. "Damn… I guess you're all alone…" He crouched down next to the chick and looked it over. It's wing was bent at a funny angle. Probably broken.

Frowning a little he quickly looked through his pockets to find something to bandage up the small animals wing. He had some pocket lint, a used band aid and a lollipop stick. He used the stick to make a temporary splint and used the band aid to hold it in place. He would have to find something better for the bird later. The bird looked down it its wing and chirped a little.

Gilbert chuckled and picked the bird up. "I'll fix it better later… I'm Gilbert. What should I call you? I can't call you Birdie… How about Gilbird?" The bird chirped approvingly. Gilbert grinned happily and put Gilbird in his jackets breast pocket. The bird chirped happily from it warm, new home. This made Gilbert chuckle a little. "We're almost at Rivertown, Gilbird. When we're there I'll get you some bread crumbs and then I'll introduce you to my Birdie." He was happy to have made a new friend and it looked as though Gilbird was happy to have Gilbert as a friend too.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

After visiting a bakery and getting Gilbird some food, Gilbert made his way to the asylum. The red brick walls that surrounded the facility were so tall that even the trees struggled to reach the top and even when they did barbed wire snagged their branches.

Gilbert shuddered a little and walked over to the security guard. Gracing him with a small smile. "Hi there… I'm here to see Matthew Williams… I phoned yesterday and stuff…"

The security guard was a fat old man with a thick walrus moustache. He looked up at Gilbert and chuckled. "You're always here to see him. Every day since he came here. Why's that?"

"He's my best friend." Said Gilbert. "… He's also my boyfriend."

The security guard gave Gilbert a confused look and shook his head. "Whatever floats your boat kid." He pressed a button and the tall iron gates slowly rattled open. "By the way… I heard from one of the doctors that Matthew's awake. Happened around one this morning or something… Might not have been your Matthew, but just thought I'd let you know." Gilbert felt his heart leap out of his chest and into his mouth. After a week of nothing he was awake? He hoped that it was really true.

He quickly walked past the asylum gates and into the grounds. They were well kept for the most part with knee high shrubs everywhere and a shallow pond far off to one side with many well-kept and neat trees dotted the place. There were a few patients walking around in their dark blue uniforms with their heads down and doctors nearby.

Inside, the place was all too black and white. The tiles, polished clean and gleaming were in a checked black and white pattern while the walls reeked of the disinfectant that sterilized the place beyond hospital regulations. The small made him feel sick.

Taking a small gulp and walked up to the front desk and smiled at Yao. He was a Chinese man that worked there. He was a nice guy, always offering snacks to people. He looked up at Gilbert and smiled. "Let me guess, Matthew?"

"Only person I know here." Said Gilbert.

Yao chuckled a little and quickly typed some things into his computer. "Let's see… You can still see Matthew in his room because he's still a little disorientated."

"So that means he's awake then?" Asked Gilbert excitedly. He was sure he was grinning from ear to ear by now.

"Yeah, he's awake… Just don't do anything that'll set him off." Said Yao. "Just wait for his doctor to take you to his room." He quickly picked up his phone and called up someone. It was probably Matthew's doctor. Some happy guy called Tino or Doctor V because his last name was ridiculously difficult for someone not from the Scandinavian region to pronounce.

Within minutes Dr Tino appeared with a warm smile on his face. "Oh hi Gilbert! Matthew will be happy to see you. He's been wondering where you were all day."

Gilbert grinned and followed the Finnish man to Matthew's room. The halls where the patients were housed were not that pleasant looking. The floor was made from the dullest of grey concrete, drains were present every few meters and the walls were a gross yellow colour. The closer to the ground the brighter yellow got.

They got to a large iron door and Tino knocked a few times before opening. "Matthew, you have a visitor." He quickly turned to Gilbert, grinning. "I'll be outside of you need anything."

Gilbert nodded and walked inside. Matthew's room was a little small but liveable; the walls were an off white colour that matched the off and dirty grey of the floor. There was a bed pressed against the far wall near a barred window and a small door leading off to one side. Presumably to the bathroom. Sitting on the bed was Matthew. He was smiling happily holding Kuma in his arms, but as soon as he saw Gilbert he abandoned the bear and practically leapt at Gilbert.

The albino quickly caught Matthew, making sure he didn't crush Gilbird in the process and kissed the blond. "Miss me much?"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "What do you think? Have I really been out of it for a week? What's happened? Have you parents left town yet? Is my uncle okay? Tino said he might come and visit later today and-"

Gilbert quickly put his hand over Matthew's mouth to silence him. "Slow down Birdie. You need to breathe… I've missed you."

"Sorry." Said Matthew quietly. "I just… I just panicked.

"It's fine." Said Gilbert reassuringly. "I know it wasn't your fault… Things like this just happen. You couldn't control it… By the way I want to show you my new friend." He pointed to the bird sitting in his pocket and grinned. "His name is Gilbird." He carefully took the bird out of his pocket and showed Matthew. Gilbird chirped as he looked up at Matthew.

The blond chuckled a little and looked down at Gilbird's damaged wing. "Do you like taking in broken and damaged things? But he is really cute. Did he fall out of a nest?"

"Ja, I think so." Said Gilbert. He patted the small bird a little and sighed. "Do you still see yourself a broken and damaged?"

"Well I'm here aren't I?" Asked Matthew sadly. "I'm back in this hell hole and have no idea if I'll ever get out… I need to get out of here. There's something important I need to do… I just can't remember what it is… All I remember is that it has to do with that ghost."

Gilbert frowned a little and put the bird back in his pocket. "Ghost? What are you talking about?"

Matthew frowned a little as he thought hard about what Gilbert had just asked. "… Not a clue. Tino said my mind might not be quite right for about a day after being pretty much in a coma for a week… It's probably nothing." He looked up at Gilbert and smiled a little. "Anyway, enough about me. How have you been?"

The albino shrugged a little. "I've been good… with my parents gone I was able to move back into my house. Ludwig was nice enough to clean my room for me while I was gone… But I really missed you."

"I know." Said Matthew quietly. "I missed you too… So much…" He leaned against Gilbert's shoulder and smiled. "Being here with you… It makes me feel warm inside. I just feel so cold without you near me…"

Gilbert blushed a little and squeezed Matthew's hand. "I feel the same… You're acting a little different. I don't think you were this affectionate before…"

Matthew shrugged a little. "I don't know… I just feel like something bad's going to happen if I'm not with you…"

The albino smiled a little and held Matthew close. "Birdie, don't worry. I'll always be here to protect you. You never need to think about bad things happening to you again."

"No…" Whispered Matthew. "I-I don't care about that… I just have this feeling that something bad's going to happen to you."

"To me?" Asked Gilbert. "What could possibly happen to me? I'm awesome."

Matthew frowned and looked into Gilbert's eyes. "So she hasn't been invading your dreams? She hasn't been attacked you in your dreams and tried to murder you?" He moved so that he was sitting on Gilbert's lap and his hands were placed firmly on his shoulders. "She invades your mind… She creeps under your skin and stays there festering there until it rots your mind…" He shook his head a little and frowned. "What the hell am I saying?"

"… Something about death? I think?" Muttered Gilbert. He frowned a little and gently caressed the side of Matthew's face. "You really aren't all here are you? What did you dream about when you were out?"

"I'm not sure…" Said the blond quietly. He had his head down, unable to look Gilbert in the eyes. "It's all a messy blur of grey and green… I think there was a woman there, but I don't remember if I spoke to her or if she spoke to me. That was about it."

Gilbert frowned a little and tilted Matthew's chin up so that he was looking directly into his eyes. "Birdie… Maybe something happened in your dream? Try to remember it, maybe?"

"Maybe…" Said Matthew quietly, almost whispering. "Maybe I shouldn't even try… They might keep me here longer… and I want to be with you… It's lonely here and I kind of miss sleeping in the same bed as you. It's comforting… Do you feel the same way or am I just being creepy?"

The albino smiled softly and gently kissed the blond's cheek. "Not that creepy… I like sleeping with you too. Even if you are awake most nights, it's nice to know you'll at least stay next to me the whole time."

Matthew blushed a little at that and smiled, but it didn't really reach his eyes. "Thank you…"

"Are you okay?" Asked Gilbert. He knew that Matthew would still be out of it, but he just hoped that Matthew wasn't depressed or had developed some other disorder. He wanted Matthew out of this horrible place as soon as possible. "You seem out of it… Do you want to take a nap or something?"

"No, I'm fine." Said Matthew calmly. "I just… I guess I just still feel out of it… Like I'm here, but I'm not all here. I still feel like I'm out of it. It kind of feels like an out of body experience…" He smiled a little. "Maybe they'll let me out when I stop feeling like this?"

"Don't they give you a psych evaluation or something?" Asked Gilbert. "You might be sane enough to leave. That'll be good right? Your uncle might let me stay over sometimes. Who knows?" He tried to stay positive. He really did. Gilbert didn't want Matthew to feel depressed or upset about anything. Not anymore. He only wanted Matthew to smile and be happy. Someone like Matthew deserved to smile all the time.

"Probably." Muttered Matthew. "I don't know anymore… I guess… When do you have to go home? Aren't you meant to be in school right now?"

Gilbert chuckled nervously. "W-well… I haven't been going to school a lot lately… I've been walking… through the um… the forest…"

Matthew's eyes went wide with fear. "W-what? Y-you've been doing what? Why? Why have you been going in there? Don't you know how dangerous it is out there? Why? Just why?"

"I just needed a quiet place to think." Whined Gilbert. "I just wanted a place that was out there that I knew no one would bother me for ages… I know you think it's dangerous, but I just… I don't know. I guess I wasn't thinking…"

"Damn right you weren't thinking!" Snapped Matthew. He pouted a little and moved his hands away from Gilbert's shoulders.

This just made Gilbert frown and grab hold of Matthew's wrists, not in a painful grip, but a firm yet gentle one. With a small smile he brought Matthew's fingers up to his face and kissed his fingertips. "Birdie… I know I screwed up, but don't get all upset. I love you and I promise I won't do stupid things like that again… but you have to promise that you'll get better and come back to me."

Matthew chuckled a little, his face was bright red. "Gil… I'll always come back to you… It's impossible not to come back to someone as amazing and awesome as you."

Gilbert grinned and kissed Matthew gently and lovingly. He missed his perfect, caring, beautiful and wonderful Birdie. He could have kissed him forever, but a sharp chirping brought them both back to earth. Gilbird looked a little like he was in pain.

"Crap… I'm going to take this guy to a vet. He needs his wing set properly." Muttered Gilbert.

The blond sighed a little and got off Gilbert's lap. "Okay… but come back to me okay?"

Gilbert chuckled a little and quickly kissed Matthew's cheek. "Birdie, it's impossible for me not to come back to someone as wonderful and beautiful as you." He left the asylum feeling a little better that day.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **And there you go… Matthew's back but can't remember what his grandma said to him and Gilbert found Gilbird… please review.


	28. Gilbird

**Shinigami-cat: **So yeah… I'm buried under a mountain of assignments and I'm procrastinating like a boss… I think I will fail everything this year, but I shall fail spectacularly and in style! Enjoy the next chapter… I OWN NOTHING!

**Gilbird**

Days, or hours. It didn't seem to matter that much. All Matthew knew was that he was stuck here and there was nothing he could do. His doctor would occasionally come and visit him and ask him questions about this and that. It was nothing too extensive. Just things about why he was here and how he felt.

It was obvious that Tino had read his old report by his old doctor. He kept asking Matthew questions about his family and when he got attacked. Those kinds of questions made Matthew uncomfortable.

"Do you remember anything about the fire?" Asked Tino.

Matthew shook his head. "I was too young to remember anything." He muttered. "I don't remember anything about it…"

"Understandable." Said Tino. "But what about when you were attacked?"

"I don't want to talk about it…" Muttered Matthew.

"But this is very important."

"I understand that, but it's nothing to worry about." Said Matthew quietly. "I just… Some things were said and it just set me off… It doesn't help that I got attacked around this time of year… I just get a little more anxious during this time. I shouldn't have freaked out so much, but I did. I couldn't help it."

Tino frowned a little and nodded. "I see… It would be best if you opened up about it, but I can't keep you here because of it. You've improved dramatically and as far as I can see it, if you take precautions and look after yourself properly you shouldn't have a relapse again."

"Does this mean I can go home?" Asked Matthew hopefully.

"Yes." Said Tino happily. "You just need to visit a doctor for the next three weeks… If you want I can make house visits. It won't be too out of my way and I think it will be more convenient for you and your uncle… That's the arrangement that you had with your previous doctor too, right?"

Matthew nodded slowly. "Yeah… Either he would come to me or I'd go to him… I didn't like him that much. He was scary."

"Doctor Braginski is pretty scary." Said Tino with a small chuckle. "He still scares me a little too… But I'll talk to your uncle and we'll see how things go. I'm pretty sure Gilbert will be more than happy to see that you're out of here."

Matthew smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah… Is that all for today?"

"Yep." Said Tino. "If all goes well you should be out of here by tonight."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Matthew sighed a little as he waited for Gilbert to come and visit him. He had asked one of the nurses what the time was and it seemed as though it was visiting hours. He looked over at Kuma who was slowly padding around his room and sniffing random dark stains.

He sighed a little and looked up at the cracked plaster on the ceiling. His thoughts were drawn back to his dreams of blurred greens and whites. '_I know there's something I have to do… Something important… But I can't remember what it is… It just gets harder and harder to remember with each passing second. Soon I'll completely forget._'

"What are you thinking about?" Asked Kuma.

"My dream I had when I was off in la-la land for a week." Said Matthew calmly. "I can't help but think that there was something important that I realized there or learnt and I just forgot…"

Kuma shrugged and padded over to him, sitting next to his bed. "Dreams are like that… But if it's super important I'm sure you'll remember it. Sometimes if you look at something or someone, hear something, smell something, taste something or feel something you'll remember… If it's important enough to you you'll remember."

"I guess you're right." Muttered Matthew. He went back to looking up at the ceiling. He wanted to remember. He really did.

After what seemed like forever there was a knock at the door and Gilbert came in. He grinned at Matthew and closed the door. Once the door was closed Gilbird appeared on top of the albino's head and chirped happily.

The blond chuckled a little and smiled. "Hey Gilbert. I missed you."

Gilbert smiled a little and sat next to Matthew. He held Matthew close and gently kissed his forehead. "I missed you too. I love you."

Matthew smiled and hugged him back. "I love you too… How was school or did you ditch it again?"

"I went today." Said Gilbert. He moved away from Matthew a little and took a small hand held camera out of his jacket pocket. "Good thing too, you know how I was talking about the talent show ages ago? Well it was today. Liz was so disappointed that neither of us were actually in her band this year, but she'll live."

"I'm sure it went really well." Said Matthew quietly.

Gilbert grinned from ear to ear. "Yep. Her band actually won this year. I thought I would be awesome and record the show for you because you weren't there. The picture quality is a bit shit, but it's still pretty damn good." He fiddled with it a little. "I'll just get it up to them… There were a couple of other acts… a magic thing, some dance groups, a classical music number and I think a K-pop or J-pop group… Here it is."

He handed the camera over for Matthew to have a look. Lili was doing some last second tuning on her guitar with Mai while Katyusha was sitting behind the drum set. Bella and Elizaveta were doing a quick check of the microphones before nodding and waving at the audience.

"Hey everyone!" Said Elizaveta happily. "So for those of you who don't know, I'm Liz, Bella's the lovely girl next to me, Mai and Lili are playing guitar, both bass and electric and Katyusha's on drums."

The audience cheered and there were a couple of wolf whistles from some people in the audience. Bella chuckled a little. "Okay people! We aren't going to do some crappy mainstream pop song or some super sad and sappy love song."

Liz nodded in agreement. "Yep! We actually want to dedicate this song to two people… One of them is going through a really hard time and is actually away today and the other is an idiot that has an impossibly hard time expressing himself. We just kind of thought this song seemed like your theme song. You two know who you are."

"We're going to be playing the song Again by Flyleaf." Said Bella. "We hope you two like this."

"And you two better play with us when you've got your lives sorted out!" Snapped Liz. "It feels like years since you guys said you would!"

She turned and quickly counted to three. Katyusha, Mai and Bella started to play, a few seconds later Lili joined in creating an amazing intro, but when Elizaveta started to belt out those powerful lyrics it just blew Matthew away. Liz just owned that stage and put so much emotion into everything she was singing. It was incredible.

When the song was over, Matthew passed the camera back to Gilbert. "They… they dedicated it to us? Why?"

Gilbert shrugged a little. "I'm just as surprised as you are… I guess it's because I was talking to her about why I wasn't coming to school that much anymore and she understood… I guess she might have felt bad for us or something. Still sweet though."

Matthew nodded in agreement. "Yeah… I guess when I get out I should play the piano for her."

"How is that going anyway?" Asked Gilbert.

"I should be out by tonight." Said Matthew happily. He held Gilbert's hand and gently squeezed. "I'll get to go home…"

Gilbert smiled and kissed Matthew softly. "That's good. The sooner you're home the better. Things just aren't the same without you around."

Matthew blushed a little and smiled a little. "You always say the cheesiest things…"

"Cheesy but true." Countered Gilbert. "It'll be good to have to back where you belong… I'm not the only one that missed you… but I did miss you the most."

This made Matthew chuckle a little. He smiled and kissed Gilbert's cheek. "Cheesy, true and sweet. You're one of a kind Gilbert."

"Damn right I am." Said Gilbert with a smirk. "Tell you what, when you get out we'll have dinner at my place. I'll cook for you and we'll have a romantic night together. Just you and me… I can get Ludwig to leave the house for the night and you can see if Samuel will let me steal you away for a few hours. What do you say?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Said Matthew quietly. He could feel a steady blush starting to build up across his face. Gilbert said some of the most stupid and romantic things sometimes. He really loved those things about Gilbert. Even if he didn't seem like the type, Gilbert was an old romantic at heart. He really was Matthew's knight in shining armour. "Maybe in a few days… I think Samuel will try to keep me home for a while to make sure I'm definitely okay."

Gilbert frowned a little. "I really don't see how your uncle can keep treating you like this… I know he's worried about you and stuff, but still…"

Matthew shrugged and picked up Kuma, holding the toy close. "He just worries about me… We are the only family we have. My grandfather was an orphan and my grandmother was an only child. Growing up my uncle was the only relative I had… The family on my dad's side was always a little scattered, so I've always seen Samuel as a kind of father figure to me… and I think he thinks of me as his son. At least I hope so anyway."

Gilbert chuckled a little. "I get it. We'll do it in a couple of days. I'm sure it'll be fine. Samuel and I… I think we're indifferent about each other now. Kind of sad how something had to happen to you to make us stop hating each other to the core."

"I'm just happy that you're not unhappy with each other all the time." Said Matthew. He smiled a little and looked up at Gilbird. The small fluff ball was happily nesting in Gilbert's hair, nibbling a little on the bandage. "How long will Gilbird have that?"

"A few more days." Said Gilbert happily. "I've already got Gilbird trained really well. He hide in my hair and pockets during school. The teachers never notice him. He's such a good bird… I also toilet trained him so he doesn't crap in my hair… Thank fuck he learnt not to shit in my hair damn quickly."

Matthew chuckled a little and looked up at the bird. "Well that's good. It would suck having to wash bird poo out of your hair every day."

"Ja… Want to hold him?" Asked Gilbert.

Matthew nodded a little and cupped his hands. "Yes please. He's so cute and fluffy… Like Kuma!"

"Kind of." Said Gilbert happily. He picked up Gilbird and gently put him in Matthew's hands. "I still think Gilbird's cuter though." The little bird chirped happily and snuggled into Matthew's hands. He's so cute. He just looked adorable in Matthew's hands. So small, so helpless but at the same time happy.

"He's so soft and cute I- Ouch!" Gasped Matthew. He quickly put Gilbird on the bed and looked at his hand. He had a few little cuts from Gilbird's feet in the palm of his hand. It hurt a little, but it wasn't too bad. There were however a few small drops of blood rolled from the cuts and down his palm.

As he watched the blood slowly move out of the cut and down his hand his felt his whole body go cold. His mind was flooded with images of a young woman, the forest, Kuma as a giant polar bear, the land made from greys and most importantly he remembered the things the woman, his grandmother told him.

He smiled a little. '_So is this what you meant by a subliminal message? You used blood as a way for me to remember everything? That's a little morbid, but I guess it's probably for the best… I would have seen blood sooner or later._'

Gilbert took Matthew's hand and looked over his cut. "Sorry about that… I didn't think Gilbird's claws were that sharp."

"It's fine." Said Matthew happily. "It surprised me more than anything. It doesn't even hurt that much anymore. It's just a little surprising… I mean it's a small and cute little thing. I didn't expect him to do that."

"As long as you're okay…" Muttered Gilbert. He picked up Gilbird and put the bird back on his head. "I guess I should clip his toe nails or something."

Matthew nodded in agreement. "I guess so… Hey you remember how you did that assignment on the town right?"

"Ja?"

"Can I borrow it? I know it sounds weird and everything, but I would really like to have a look at it and it'll be nice to know some stuff about the town." He batted his eyelashes a little just for good measure.

Gilbert frowned a little. "It's pretty shit… I mean I did some good research on it and everything, but it's still pretty crap…" He seemed a little reluctant to give up that information. Perhaps he thought that Matthew was still too fragile to know any of that information yet or maybe he was just afraid Matthew would lose his mind.

"Well I would still like to have a look…" Said Matthew quietly. "D-do you think I can't handle it? Do you think I'm too fragile? Like a… like a snowflake or something? I'm not a child…" If Gilbert wouldn't give him what he wanted he could always find out some other way. It wouldn't be that difficult, but it would be nice if Gilbert just gave him the information he wanted.

The albino bit his bottom lip and looked away. He looked very conflicted. It may not have been a good idea to kept asking Gilbert this, but with his memories, he knew he had to find out as much about the town's history as possible. '_Please just tell me._' He thought over and over again. '_Please just tell me Gilbert. Please. Please. Please… Please?_'

Gilbert sighed a little. "Fine… But in a few days okay. Just so you're properly settled in and everything."

"Thank you Gilbert." Said Matthew happily. He had a warm feeling inside, knowing that Gilbert wasn't treating him like he was made of glass. He leaned forwards and quickly kissed Gilbert. "I'm not as fragile as everyone makes me out to be."

"I know." Said Gilbert with a small smile. He gently cupped Matthew's face in his hand and rubbed his thumb against the blond's soft cheek. "You're strong Birdie… stronger than most. I don't think anyone could have gone through what you have and come out on top. Most would have stayed mad or taken their own lives or something horrible… But you're getting better. You are better… Just a small slip up that's all."

Matthew leaned into Gilbert's hand a little. "Thank you… I love you so much." He was about to lean in for another kiss, but the door opened and Tino and Samuel walked in. The blond gulped a little and pushed Gilbert's hand away nervously. "H-hi…"

Tino smiled warmly at Matthew. "No need to be nervous Matthew. Your uncle and I have made arrangements. You can go home now."

Matthew's eyes went wide with excitement and a little fear. He knew what was going to happen when he went home. He knew he was going to face something even worse than he had before. But Matthew didn't mind so much. Once this was done that monster wouldn't hurt anyone else ever again. He was going to save Gilbert and finally have a normal life. Well, as normal as he, a psychic, could possibly have.

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **I… I am dead tired. I will go to bed… I will forget everything that happened today and then when I wake up I'll be all like; WTF? Why do I have so many reviews? And then I'll be all confused as to what happened and then I'll see I posted a new chapter and I'll be like… What? I'm going to sleep now because I'm rambling now… Please review.


	29. Nice Gestures Bad Dreams

**Shinigami-cat: **So I got a review the other day and they didn't long in so I couldn't reply to them (which saddened me a little), but they brought to my attention that they were disappointed in me because this story is apparently cliché and Gilbert is OOC… I honestly didn't realize either of these things until they were pointed out. So I just wanted to say that I'm sorry to everyone who is thinking the same things. I honestly tried to do something different/dark/depressing I didn't realize I was doing something cliché. Also I guess I did make Gilbert a little different I just didn't realize I made him so dramatically different and for that I'm sorry… I OWN NOTHING!

**Nice Gestures Bad Dreams**

Something wasn't right with Matthew. He seemed a little different now, it wasn't a bad change or a good change, it was just different. He seemed a little quieter. Which was an achievement in itself. Matthew was already a quiet person. He seemed to be putting up more walls around himself. He was blocking everyone out. He was isolating himself. Gilbert didn't understand it at all.

He knocked on Matthew's door and waited for someone to answer. After a few moments, Samuel opened the door and looked at Gilbert. He didn't look at Gilbert with untrusting or disgusted eyes anymore. They had more of a warning look. They kind of gave off a 'Hurt Matthew and I will end you' feel. Gilbert didn't mind that much though.

"Hey, can I come in and see Matthew?" Asked Gilbert hopefully.

Samuel nodded. "Yeah sure… He's in his room doing god knows what."

Gilbert smiled a little and walked inside towards Matthew's room. He had been out of the asylum for about three days now and had since locked himself away in his room. When Gilbert did come to see him, Matthew seemed to be wrapped up in reading about strange things. He didn't want to admit it, but Matthew was starting to scare him a little.

He opened Matthew's door and looked inside. The blond was sitting on his bed reading an old, thick, leather bound book while strange, paper thin wooden dolls were scattered about. Matthew looked up at Gilbert and smiled a little. "Hi Gil, what brings you here today?"

"You're coming to school tomorrow right? So I thought I'd catch you up on some things." Said Gilbert happily. He walked in and sat next to Matthew, picking up one of the wooden doll things. "What's thing thingy?" He turned it in his hand a little, accidently snapping it in half. It was more fragile than it looked. "Oops."

Matthew chuckled a little. "That's fine. They're pretty old, but I have a lot of them. It's called a hitogata" He passed another one of them to Gilbert and went back to his reading.

"What's a hitogata?" Asked Gilbert. He turned it over in his hands again, but more carefully this time.

"A hitogata is like a voodoo doll. You take a piece of paulownia wood and carve it into the shape of a person. Then all you need to do is write their name and year of birth on the doll and that's it. My grandmother used to know an Onmyoji from Japan who made a lot for her."

Gilbert frowned a little and looked at the hitogata more closely. "Really? Are they hard to make? How many do you have? What are they used for?"

Matthew shrugged a little. "I found a shoe box in the attic full of them… I guess you can use it to hurt people and to use on spirits… Like if one of them wanted a specific person to hurt you would just need to write the name and birth of the person before throwing it at the spirit and the hitogata would become the stand in for the spirit… They are also relatively difficult to make."

"Oh…" The albino sighed a little and took the book out of Matthew's hands, closing it. "Enough about that. How about you come over to my place tonight? Just you and me? Just like I promised you."

In all honestly, Matthew looked a little conflicted at this. "I'd like to, but-"

"Please Birdie? I'm sure Samuel will let you if you just ask." Said Gilbert hopefully. "I promise you'll have a good time. Don't make me beg."

Matthew chuckled a little and nodded. "Okay Gilbert. I'll ask him, but I can't promise anything. Didn't you say you were going to catch me up with school stuff?"

"Lovino punched Antonio, Liz hit me with a frying pan, Francis flirted with Liz's mum because she's a MILF and got knocked out by Liz and her frying pan and I have been awesome. Now you're all caught up."

Matthew chuckled a little and rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant, but thanks anyway… I meant more academic wise."

"Academic wise nothing special." Said Gilbert with a grin. He looked over the hitogata and frowned a little. He didn't really like them that much. They seemed a little too odd to him. Matthew's grandmother was still a bit of a mystery to him and the things she could apparently do and did do when she was still alive. "What's with the sudden interest with this kind of stuff?"

Matthew shrugged a little. "Nothing. I guess I just want to try and find out more about her… That's all, really." Although Matthew sounded sincere, he had this guilty look on his face, like he was hiding something.

"Okay Birdie. Are you going to ask your uncle?"

The blond smiled and nodded. "Sure. I'll do that." He picked up a shoe box that was sitting next to him and started to pack away the hitogata.

"… Does Samuel know about this?"

Something flashed behind Matthew's eyes. It looked a little like fear, but he might have been mistaken. "No… Please don't tell him that I'm going through her things… I don't think he would understand and he would probably freak out. You never know with him."

"Okay…" He slowly stood up and pulled Matthew to his feet. "Come on Birdie, we'll go to my place now. You haven't been there in ages."

Matthew smiled a little and followed Gilbert out of the room, still holding his hand. They passed Samuel who was sitting in the lounge room watching TV. He looked up at the pair and frowned a little. "What's all this then?"

"C-can I stay over at G-Gilbert's tonight?" Asked Matthew quietly.

Gilbert gently squeezed Matthew's hand reassuringly. "Don't worry sir. We'll be sleeping in separate rooms and we aren't going to do anything inappropriate."

"You better not." Said Samuel in a warning tone. "If you do, you're dead. Got it?"

"Loud and clear." Said Gilbert with a grin. "I'll bring him back in one piece, I can promise you that."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

The walk back to Gilbert's house was relatively quiet. They just walked back there hand in hand. It made Gilbert feel a little better to see Matthew out and about, even if he still looked distracted.

'_What's on his mind?_' Wondered Gilbert. '_He seems so out of it these days. I wish he would just tell me what was wrong… Doesn't he trust me or something?_' That thought hurt him the most.

"Are you okay Gilbert?" Asked Matthew quietly. "You seem distracted?"

"What? Me? Distracted? No way." Said Gilbert happily. "I'm just... I just want… You know you can tell me anything right? I'll always be here for you no matter what you're going through. You don't need to go through it alone."

Matthew blinked a little in surprise and blushed. "O-oh… Well I'm fine right now… really I just… I'll tell you a little later okay. I promise I'll tell you, just a little later…"

"Sure Birdie." Said Gilbert with a small smile. "Whatever you need."

"Thank you." Said Matthew quietly. He seemed to relax a little, but not entirely. He still seemed a little distracted about something. He still wasn't sure what it was though.

To get to Gilbert's house they had to walk past the forest and down through the town. They walked down the side of the road furthers away from the forest. Gilbert glanced over at the darkened scenery and frowned a little. It seemed darker than usual today. He frowned a little as he watched the shadows moving around between the trees in an erratic pattern. He didn't know why, but it sent a sharp chill down his spine.

"What are you looking at?" Asked Matthew quickly.

Gilbert shrugged and looked back at Matthew. "Nothing… The forest just seems darker than usual. That's all… It just seems darker to me now. Not sure why though. I mean it's just a forest."

The blond frowned and looked across the road to the forest. He opened his mouth a few times, like he wanted to say something but always stopped at the last second. He instead nodded and sighed. "Yeah. Just a forest. Don't you think it's just like one big grave for animals? Everyday another one dies in there… the mass of bodies must be horrendous…" He shook his head a little and chuckled. "I always seem to end up talking about the darkest things these days… Kind of scary."

"Yep." They turned down a road away from the forest and into town. It wouldn't be too long until they reached Gilbert's house now.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When they got to Gilbert's house he threw opened the door and called out. "Hey West? Is my little bro still home?"

"Ja, I was just about to leave." Called Ludwig from upstairs. A few moments later Ludwig appeared carrying a backpack. When he saw Gilbert he sighed a little and crossed his arms. "Don't burn down the house."

"Have you no faith in me?" Whined Gilbert childishly.

"Don't have any wild parties."

"No faith!" Cried Gilbert in shock. "He has zero faith in me!"

"No ritual sacrifices of any kind."

"… Okay, now I know Feli's been making you watch 'ten things I hate about you' again." Muttered Gilbert. He pushed Ludwig towards the door. "Okay, time for you to get going. Come back tomorrow and have a good night."

Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Ja, ja, ja. I'm not a little kid. Stop treating me like one."

"I'll stop treating you like one when you're older than me." Said Gilbert. "Which will be… never."

"Whatever." Muttered Ludwig. He glanced over at Matthew and nodded a little in acknowledgement before he left.

When he was gone, Gilbert turned to Matthew and smiled brightly. "So… is there anything you want to do? Play a game? Watch a movie?"

Matthew shrugged a little as he looked around a little. "I don't really mind what we do… I'm just happy I'm here. Can we go to your room for a bit?"

Gilbert smiled a little and started to lead Matthew to his room "Just be a little careful. I'm still finding little bits of glass everywhere." He opened up the door to his room and the two went inside. Most, if not all, of the glass objects were gone, apart from the window which had been replaced. In addition to the changes in Gilbert's room was the birdcage sitting on his desk, housing one Gilbird.

The yellow bird chirped happily and jumped over to the cage door. He seemed excited to see the pair. Gilbert chuckled and let the little fluff ball out of his cage to let him fly freely around the room. Gilbird flew straight into his master's sliver locks and stayed there.

Matthew chuckled a little at this and sat down on Gilbert's bed. "It's nice how you two get along so well. It's kind of cute."

Gilbert grinned and sat next to Matthew. "Glad you think so. He's pretty awesome."

Matthew nodded and sighed a little. "Hey… you never really told me what happened that day… With you parents and the glass. Do you think you could or is it too much?"

The albino frowned a little and looked down at his feet. "Well… I just… It was after my dad beat me up a little and they locked me in my room. I just… I got so angry and then everything exploded. I… I have no idea what happened. It couldn't have been a power surge and I still don't know what happened. I guess I just don't know what happened. It might have just been a fluke or something. I don't know."

Matthew lightly held Gilbert's hand and squeezed gently. "Okay… Thank you for telling me… Can I tell you something?"

"You can tell me anything, Birdie." Said Gilbert.

"I… I think you have psychic powers." Whispered Matthew quietly.

Gilbert looked at his boyfriend in shock, blinking several times. "… I think I misheard you."

Matthew looked down, his face was bright red. "I um… I just… from what you said it um… it sounds like you had a kind of psychic awakening. I read in my grandmother's notes that some people… they um… When they have their awakening it's usually because of trauma and most never experience it again so I… I just thought that maybe… but maybe not… I'm sorry. Just forget what I said. It's stupid."

Gilbert sighed a little and patted Matthew's head. "Birdie, I don't have psychic powers… I think you've been reading too much of your grandma's old notes or something like that."

"I guess you're right…" Said Matthew quietly, though he did sound a little hurt.

The albino frowned and tilted Matthew's head up so they were face to face. "Don't be all sad Birdie. Tonight, let's just forget all that weird, confusing and strange crap and just focus on us. The good things, not the bad." He gently kissed Matthew soft lips. "Want me to get you something to eat? I'm not the best cook, but my food is edible."

"… Okay." Said Matthew slowly. "What are you cooking?"

"It's a while until dinner, so just some of this and some of that." Said Gilbert happily. "So I can microwave something for us um… how do you feel about microwaved macaroni and cheese?"

Matthew chuckled and rolled his eyes. "You really are the master of cooking."

"Damn straight I am." Said Gilbert with a grin. He got up and walked to the door. "I'll be back in a second okay?"

Matthew nodded and pulled his legs up so he was sitting cross legged on Gilbert's bed. "Sure. I'll be waiting."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

He couldn't help but nervously scrape his nails along his neck as he walked along the cold dirt path. The further down the path he walked the more he felt a strong sense of dread starting to fill him. He didn't understand why though. It was just a damn forest. A place for trees and animals. He didn't see why he should be worried at all.

'_What the hell damn it._' Thought Gilbert bitterly. '_This place… these things… what the hell is going on here?_'

He looked up at the trees and sighed sadly. They were slowly starting to lose their leaves in the autumn air. The crisp yellow and orange blanket that covered the ground was more than enough to confirm this.

As he kept walking he ended up tripping over something imbedded in the ground. Frowning, Gilbert kneeled down in front of the object and ran his fingers over it. It was hard like a rock, but it was much too thin. It was coloured like a stick, but it was much too smooth. With a bit of difficulty he managed to wiggle it out of place to examine it more closely. It was brittle like a dry stick, but the middle of it was pretty hollow with a thick dark red, almost brown paste inside it.

Immediately, Gilbert dropped it, like it was burning him. "A- a bone?" He quickly got up and started to move further away from where he made the grizzly find. "Damn it… Why am I fucking freaking out about that?" He wondered out loud. "It's just… it probably wasn't even human. This is a damn forest for crying out loud! It could have been an animal bone." His own attempts to reassure himself weren't working at all. If anything it made him doubt himself even more.

The caw of a bird snapped Gilbert out of his train of thoughts and made him look up at his new surroundings. Somehow his autumn landscape had changed into a dead and bushfire ravaged landscape, ash was falling from the sky like snow and despite the still smouldering trees and shrubs, the wind was freezing cold. It was strange. It was odd. It was different.

Once again the bird cawed, followed by the distinct rip of flesh caught his attention. Looked towards the source of the noise. It looked like a large, swarming mass of black feathers over a body.

A heavy weight started to form in the pit of his stomach as he approached the corpse. He didn't know what he would find, but he was sure he wasn't going to like it at all. The closer he got, the stronger his dread became. Especially when he could hear the pathetic begging of someone pleading with the birds to let them be.

When he got close to the body, some of the birds flew away to revel an arm riddled with claw marks and missing chunks of flesh. This person was missing his thumb and their middle finger. The blood from their corpse mixed with the thick ash making a dark, black, sticky mess.

Taking a deep breath, Gilbert took a few more steps towards the body. This caused the majority of the birds to fly away to show Matthew's bloody, mangled corpse. Almost all the flesh from his torso was gone with only the gleaming white bones remained. His left cheek had been picked clean of flesh and his eyes had been plucked from its sockets. There was more bone than meat on his body and still he didn't die. He was still whispering quietly for the birds to leave him alone and for death to take him already.

Gilbert just stood there, unable to move. He felt like a lump and formed in his throat, rendering him incapable of speech. Instead, he fell to his knees and hesitantly held Matthew's hand. He didn't care if Matthew couldn't feel his touch. He just wanted to touch him without braking him. '_This… this isn't real… This has to be a dream… I just… Why? Why does this have to happen._'

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Gilbert's eyes snapped open. As the world came back into focus the first thing he noticed was the pounding of blood behind his ears, secondly was the fact he was gasping for air, thirdly there was weight on his stomach that was pinning him down. He blinked a few times and looked deep into Matthew's concerned eyes.

'_That's right… Birdie and I had dinner, watched some movie and we went to bed… It's night time._' Thought Gilbert slowly. '_It was all a dream…_'

"Are you okay Gilbert?" Asked Matthew quietly. His voice was full of concern. "You were whimpering and muttering things in German under your breath…"

Gilbert smiled a little and gently reached up to touch Matthew's face. His skin felt so soft, smooth and cold against his fingertips. "I'm fine Birdie… Just a bad dream. That's all. We all get them sometimes."

The blond frowned a little at this answer, but nodded anyway. "Okay Gilbert… I trust you." He moved to he was lying next to Gilbert and sighed a little. "Just… if you want to… you know you can talk to me about anything right?"

Gilbert nodded and held Matthew close to his chest. "Ja, I know… Thank you Birdie. Now, go to sleep."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Ha! I'm posting again! That means I did finish my assignment Sunny-chan! So yeah! Take that! Please review.


	30. Bye

**Shinigami-cat: **Sorry its taken me a while to do this chapter. I've been really caught up with assignments and my head space has just been all over the place… Still kind of is… I OWN NOTHING!

**Bye **

_Dear diary  
__I'm worried about Gilbert. He's been acting strangely lately. I know that's kind of rich coming from me, but I'm really worried. He keeps having nightmares, I know they are not as bad as the ones I get, but I know they are bad. That night when I stayed over with him he kept muttering these phrases in German. Honestly, I suck at German and had to rely on Google Translate to get it, but I'm not sure it's too reliable. The upshot of what he was muttering in his sleep were random phrases; "It's cold", "Don't die" and of course there was this he repeated even after he went to sleep the second time; "Stay with me, Birdie, stay with me"._

_Recently I've also noticed the way he walks. It's like he has a huge weight pushing down on his shoulders and it worries me a lot. I've read something's where people who have been possessed by spirits describe it like having a heavy weight on their shoulders. I'm not sure if he actually is possessed by a spirit, but if that thing makes people suicide than it's possible that they were possessed during the ordeal. It would explain why Gilbert remembers nothing about when he destroyed part of the school. _

_On a slightly brighter note I am getting better at controlling my powers. I have determined that I don't have any PK-MT. That reminds me, I need to replace the cup I broke. I have some PK-LT and practiced a little on some of the birds that land in the yard. Nothing bad though, just making them move from place to place in a little hopping way. It's easier to do if I'm actually touching them. My PK-ST is pretty okay. It's like a muscle. The more I use it the stronger it gets. _

_I want to get rid of this ghost soon. I think it will try to kill me or Gilbert again. From the way Gilbert's been acting he might be next. I need to make myself more appealing for it. I don't want Gilbert to die. I just need a little more time. I need to find out who this person was, why she was killed and why she is attacking people who are close to each other. I just need a little more time. I hope that I'll be allowed to have that time._

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Matthew looked over the entry he made a nodded in approval. It was a good entry. He said what he wanted to at the moment, but kept back everything he needed to say. He didn't want someone to find it and accuse him of being insane again. If it was mild like this, he could brush it off as a bit of creative writing and say that he just used the names of people he knew because he has trouble coming up with names.

He put his diary back in his bag where Kuma was residing and yawned a little. The bear looked up at Matthew and frowned a little. "Are you okay? Studying too hard about that ghost perhaps?"

"A little." Said Matthew quietly. "But I want to help her move on as quickly as possible."

The bear tilted his head to the side in mild confusion. "Don't you hate her?"

Matthew shrugged. "I don't like what she's doing, but she obviously died in a horrible way otherwise she wouldn't be here haunting this town. Ghosts were once people… from what I've read from her notes and other sources it seems to me like ghosts are living their nightmares. They pull other people into it to try and cure themselves or just pull them in to make them know their pain… I think this ghost might just want people to experience her pain."

"You sound just like her." Said Kuma. "Every time you speak about this kind of thing I hear her voice."

The blond chuckled a little. "Then maybe I'm channelling her spirit. I wouldn't be surprised if she did. Anyway, my point is if I can find who she is, why she died and how she died I can help her cross over and save a lot of innocent people from getting killed in the process… I just wish I knew more about Flint Valley… There's so little to go on…"

He sighed a little and let his head hit the desk with a loud thump. He didn't care who heard him. He had a pile of books surrounding him all on the town's history, the occult and ghosts. He was surprised that there was so much on the supernatural at his school, but he wasn't complaining.

"Perhaps you should go to the library in town, instead of the school one?" Suggested Kuma. He wriggled further into Matthew's bag and yawned a little. "You should sleep soon. You're no use to anyone if you're all sleep deprived and screw up helping her move on… how do you plan to do it anyway?"

"I have a few ideas…" Mumbled Matthew. "Most of them are methods from Japan and China. Did she have a lot of friends there or something?"

"She always said that she felt more connected to the spirit world in the East." Said Kuma. "It's not because she liked it better there, she just felt a more spiritual energy there. She said that since the people there are more respectful of the old traditions she gets a better feel there. Doesn't mean she didn't get the same feelings here it's just… different."

"I understand." Said Matthew.

"What do you understand, Birdie?" Asked Gilbert.

Matthew gasped and quickly jumped up, falling out of his chair in the process and landing on his butt. "Don't do that!"

Gilbert couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Sorry Birdie. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything." He helped Matthew back to his feet and looked over some of the open books. "Making yourself a book fort out of occult books…" Matthew couldn't help but hear the sad tone in his boyfriend's voice.

"I'm sorry… I just feel more connected to my grandmother this way." Said Matthew quietly. "I'm not doing this to make you upset… I just… I kind of see this as my heritage…"

"I get it." Said Gilbert. He gently patted the blond's head and smiled softly. "I don't necessarily understand it, but I get it."

Matthew blushed and nodded. "Thank you… D-do you have a free period?"

"Birdie, it's the end of the day. School's over."

"Eh?" The day had just flown by for Matthew. First day since coming back from the asylum for a second time too. "Wow… that just… wow…"

Gilbert chuckled at Matthew's shocked reaction and picked up one of the books on the table. "Time flies when you read about… an account where someone exploded when they came in contact with a ghost… Lovely." He closed the book and frowned a little. "Do you really think you should be reading this kind of thing? I mean, with everything that's happened to you…"

Matthew rolled his eyes and quickly picked up his bag. "I'm not made of glass, Gilbert. I know what I'm doing. Just trust me on this. Once I'm done everything can go back to normal!"

"Normal? Birdie, what are you talking about?" Asked Gilbert. "What have you been working on?"

The blond sighed sadly and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You wouldn't believe me anyway."

Gilbert sighed. He placed a hand on one of Matthew's shoulders and used his other hand to tilt Matthew's face towards his. "Hey, look at me for a second… I know I'm a bit of a jerk sometimes, but you can tell me anything and I'll always listen to you no matter what. So just… just tell me. Don't shut me out."

Matthew shook his head and stepped away from Gilbert. "Can't I keep secrets? Am I not allowed to have anything to myself anymore? We all have secrets and I… I want to keep this a secret. Please… just let this go…"

Gilbert sighed and shook his head. "Fine, I'll drop it. I was just trying to help."

"I know…" Muttered Matthew. "I appreciate it, really… I'm just tired of everyone treating me like I'm a… a… a psycho. Yes I have problems. Yes I've gone insane more than once. Yes I am looking into the occult. But I refuse to be treated like a child. I'm almost eighteen for crying out loud! Are you just staying with me because you want something to be wrong with me?" As soon as the words left his mouth he regrated it. He felt ill. "Gil… I-"

"Save your breath." Growled Gilbert. He turned and started to walk out of the library.

Matthew gulped and quickly followed him. "Gil, don't be like this… I-I didn't mean anything by it…"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Right, so you didn't mean that the only reason I want to be with you, is because you are crazy and no one else will want you, because it sure sounded like that to me."

"That's a lie and you know it!" Snapped Matthew. "I love you, Gilbert! I really do! You know I do! You've been there for me more than anyone else… I just… You know everything about me and there are lots of things I don't know about you…"

Gilbert stopped dead in his tracks. "Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about? You know everything about me too! Don't act like you're always left out of the loop!"

Matthew sighed dramatically. "Oh come on! Stop making this about you! You're such a jerk sometimes!"

"Oh, I'm the jerk?" Asked Gilbert in disbelief. "I'm trying to be a good boyfriend and help you with whatever you're going through, but you keep blocking me out… It's frustrating."

"… I know." Said Matthew sadly. "Look, how about we do something fun together? You haven't been getting a lot of sleep and I… well I'm just a bit all over the place at the moment… I don't like fighting with you." He reached out and held Gilbert's hand, gently squeezing it a little. "I love you…"

Gilbert smiled a little and gently squeezed back. "Love you too… Where do you want to go? Your place? My place?"

"Somewhere with a view that's quiet." Said Matthew quietly. "I like it better when it's just you and me…"

Gilbert thought for a second before nodding. "Okay. I know just the place." He took Matthew's hand and led him through the school and up to the roof. The view from up there was always beautiful. From there, one could almost see the whole town. It was quite breathe taking. Gilbert grinned and walked up to the railing and leant against it. "We have about an hour until the all those after school clubs end, so we won't get locked in."

Matthew nodded and put his bag by the door and walked over to Gilbert. He sighed a little. "Hey Gil, what would you do if you knew something terrible was going to happen to someone close to you? Would you tell them or keep it a secret."

"Depends." Said Gilbert. "What kind of secret are we talking about?"

Matthew kept his eyes on the horizon. He couldn't look Gilbert in the face. "The kind that can kill… Like you knew something or someone was out to get them. Would you tell them the truth or would you keep it to yourself and do everything capable of saving them so they would never have to worry."

"Birdie… is something going on? Why are you asking such a question?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

Gilbert groaned. "For fuck sake Birdie! We've just gone 360 on this conversation! Don't say shit like that and just shut me down when you don't want to answer my questions!"

"I'm researching that thing in the fog!"

"You're what?"

Matthew sighed sadly and looked down and the ground. He felt stupid now that he said it out loud. "I just… I think she's a ghost and I want to help her move on…" He waited for Gilbert to laugh at him or scold him for doing something so stupid. He heart beat was slowly rising in his chest, while at the same time he could feel his stomach getting heavy.

He heard Gilbert sigh heavily. "Birdie… Thanks for telling me."

Matthew's eyes snapped open and he looked at Gilbert. "Eh?" He still seemed mildly displeased, but at least he didn't seem nearly as upset as he did before.

"At least I know why you're looking at the occult now." Said Gilbert with a small smile. "Just be careful okay? I don't want to sound weird, but the occult can be a tricky thing. I don't want to get into things that you can't get out of… I don't want you to go back there."

Matthew chuckled a little at what Gilbert said. "I'm not planning on doing anything crazy… But you still don't believe me do you? You don't believe that she really is a ghost."

"Honestly, I don't know." Said Gilbert. He looked back over the town and sighed. "Strange things have happened here, that much I can agree on… As to why that happened or if this ghost is even the reason for it is a different matter all-together… I want to believe you but…"

"It sounds farfetched?" Offered Matthew.

"Ja."

"I understand." Said Matthew quietly. "I… I want to free her spirit from whatever it's going through. I don't care that she murdered many people. She was once human and deserves to be saved… Even if she did try to kill us."

"… The ghost did what now?"

Matthew chuckled a little and waved it off. "Don't worry. My grandmother told me that since she couldn't kill me she couldn't make you commit suicide… That day at school when you destroyed everything she wanted to make you drink acid and kill yourself." He looked over at Gilbert and grinned. The albino looked completely confused. "Hey, you wanted to know what I was hiding from you."

"Well… ja, but I didn't expect that…" Said Gilbert. "You know that still…"

"Doesn't sound logical?" Suggested Matthew. "Sounds impossible? Like I'm making it up? Decide for yourself, but think it through… You know that it makes sense somewhere in your mind…" They fell into silence after that. Neither of them spoke. They just watched the town. Matthew's mind was blissfully blank, but would get consumed with worry when he glanced over at Gilbert to see the concentration on his face. Eventually Matthew sighed and turned around. "…Where's my bag?"

Gilbert turned around and frowned. "What?"

"My bag… I left it right next to the door…" Matthew gulped as he felt his heart beat starting to rise in his chest. "Kuma was in that bag… Gilbert, I need to find that bag!" He quickly ran to the door and opened the door. He couldn't see anyone, but the slight smell of something strange in the air.

"Why does it smell like sulphur in here?" Asked Gilbert. "This isn't even the science building."

Matthew almost didn't hear him. He was starting to panic. "Sulphur… That smell is always present in the air when they come… She was here… The ghost was here…" He quickly ran down the steps and followed the smell outside. Gilbert was quickly behind him trying to convince him to stop, or at least slow down. Both of which were not happening.

'_She has Kuma._' He kept thinking over and over in his mind. '_She had Kuma. She has Kuma. She has Kuma. She has Kuma. I have to save him. I have to save him!_'

He quickly pushed open the doors of the school and stopped dead in his tracks. All over the playground was the shredded remains of his bag, ripped up scraps of paper, Kuma's skin and fur. Just to add insult to injury, Kuma's head was stuck on a tree branch.

'_I'm sorry Kuma… I didn't save you… I'm so sorry…_'

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Yeah… I'm sorry about leaving it on such a sad note, but I did. Now you can all ponder Matthew's reaction to this while I sit my exams -_- … Please review.


	31. Scar

**Shinigami-cat: **I know you're all upset that I killed Kuma and I'm sorry for that… I OWN NOTHING!

**Scar**

Gilbert quickly made it to Matthew's side. "Why did you run off like that...? Birdie?" When Matthew didn't move, Gilbert looked around him and gulped. Not only was Matthew's bag and belongings shredded, but Kuma was all over the place.

'_What kind of sick fuck would pull a prank like this?_'

He watched as Matthew slowly walked towards the tree where Kuma's head was. He took it out of the tree and looked at it. With his back turned to him, Gilbert couldn't see what emotions were playing on Matthew's face.

He cleared his throat a little and was about to say something when Matthew dropped Kuma's head and turned around. Instead of being distraught, like Gilbert thought he would be, Matthew was smiling. "I-I'm going to go home now… I'll see you tomorrow…"

"Birdie…"

Matthew just smiled a little and walked away. Gilbert wanted to chase after him, but he had a feeling that the person who did this was still around. He wanted to get to the bottom of this and possibly beat the crap out of them.

He walked over to the shredded bits of this and that. Perhaps if he collected the pieces he could attempt to stitch the bear back together again. He knew it would be more than a crappy job, but he wanted to at least try it.

'_What kind of bastard would do this?_' He wondered as he picked up the pieces. '_Maybe it was that ghost? Who am I kidding, I don't really believe him do I? I mean… It's too impossible, right?_'

As he continued to pick up the pieces he noticed a disc, half buried under a small pile of stuffing. He bent down and picked it up. It was a small metal disc with a scorpion engraved onto it. It was possible that this was the disc he felt inside Kuma before. It seemed to be made from some kind of silver and had some kind of burn mark on one side.

"What the hell?" Muttered Gilbert. He rubbed the side of the disc a few times until the burn was gone. Once that was done he held it up to the light and let it shine. As soon as he did his limbs went numb and his body went cold. His vision slowly started to blur as his head started spinning moments before everything went dark.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When Gilbert next opened his eyes he could tell something was off straight away. Firstly, he felt like he was looking through a window because everything had a strange gleam to it. Secondly, everything in the room was huge compared to him. Finally, he could feel something tugging at the back of his neck. It felt like someone was stitching the back of his neck.

'_W- what the hell?_' Thought Gilbert in a panic. '_Someone! Help me!_'

He felt a pair of arms wrap around his sides and turned him around. He ended up looking into the face of an old woman. Her platinum blond hair was wrapped up in a messy bun and her face set in a smile. "There we go. All done." Said the woman. "I wonder what he'll name you."

She lifted Gilbert up and walked out of the room, to what looked like a lounge room and put Gilbert on the coffee table. '_What the heck is going on?_'

The woman sat on the lounge in front of the bear and smiled warmly. "Well, let's get the introductions all done. My name is Jacqueline Williams. I am your creator and I'm the one that gave you a body. I created you for one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to do everything within your power to keep my unborn grandson safe."

Gilbert felt a chill run up his spine. '_M-Matthew's grandmother? But she's dead… Am I… Are these Kuma's memories? How the hell can Kuma have a memory? He's a toy!_'

Jacqueline sighed a little as she looked over at what Gilbert assumed was the front door. "I chose you because you are a faceless spirit and I wanted a spirit that I knew would not hold any ill will towards humans… After this conversation you will go into a deep sleep and only awaken to meet him and when you have to save his life." There was a knock at the door and Jacqueline quickly got up. She opened the door and smiled warmly. "Come in dears."

From where Gilbert was he could see a heavily pregnant woman walking through the door. She was followed by a younger looking version of Samuel. "Bonjour mama." Said the pregnant woman. She kissed Jacqueline on both cheeks and waddled into the lounge room. She sat down on the couch and sighed. "He never stops kicking…"

Samuel chuckled. "Babies do that sis. Bonjour mama."

"Bonjour to both of you." Said Jacqueline. She walked into the lounge room and sat next to the woman and gently rubbed her stomach. "Have you tried drinking tea? Peppermint tea is what I took when I had you two."

"I'll go get some then." Muttered Samuel as he walked off to the kitchen.

Once he was gone Jacqueline smiled kindly at her daughter. "Where is your husband, Emily? Working today I assume?"

Emily nodded. "Yes… But he's getting time off for the next two weeks starting tomorrow… Matthew is due in that time anyway." She ran her fingers over her swollen stomach. "I hope he's there for the birth…"

"I'm sure he will be." Said Jacqueline. "And if he doesn't turn up I'll just curse him."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Really mama? You're going to curse him? If you cursed him I would never forgive you."

Jacqueline pouted and nodded. "Fine… Anyway I finally finished Matthew's present." She picked up Gilbert and sat it on top of Emily's stomach. "I think Matthew will love it. Polar bears are strong and fierce protectors, but are loving and gentle at the same time. A kind and caring protector for times ahead."

Emily chuckled and gently touched Gilbert's face. "He's so soft… I'm sure Matthew will love him…"

'_Okay then…_' Thought Gilbert. '_I guess I really am looking at Kuma's memories or something just as weird… Shit!_' Suddenly Gilbert bounced into the air and fell backwards off Emily and onto the floor.

Jacqueline laughed a little. "Looks like Matthew can't wait to get his hands on his new toy."

"He can wait…" Groaned Emily as she soothingly rubbed her stomach. "If he keeps this up he's going to end up making me pee myself again… No more babies after this… I'm not going through his much pain again…"

Jacqueline giggled and picked up Gilbert, putting him back on the coffee table. "Poor dear… C-section or natural birth?"

"He better not have a big head!" Cried Emily. "I don't want to pass a giant baby!"

"You have nothing to worry about. The doctors these days are much better than those from my day." Said Jacqueline. "Hopefully you won't rip from your V to your A."

Emily looked like she was going to be sick. "V to my A… Why are you scaring me like that?"

"Just teasing you." Cooed Jacqueline. She put her hand on Emily's stomach and smiled warmly. "I expect great things from you, Matthew. Don't disappoint me…" Slowly the room started to spin and the colours started to merge into a blur.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When the colours stopped spinning and everything started to separate again, Gilbert was in a different place. He was in some child's room. The room was a soft, pastel blue colour and decorated with a cloud pattern. He kind of liked it. Something shifted out of the corner of his eyes and drew his attention. Gilbert looked over at the bed. Sleeping there was an adolescent Matthew.

'_He's so cute…_' Thought Gilbert. '_What the hell am I doing here? I don't understand…_'

There was a small flicker of light that quickly wafted through the room. It jumped around a little from place to place before settling above Matthew's sleeping form. Gilbert didn't like this. He didn't like it at all. There was something about it that just seemed menacing and destructive.

'_Stay away from him…_' Growled Gilbert in his mind. '_Just stay away from him…_' The flickering light slowly grew larger and larger. As it grew it looked less like a light and more like fire. Gilbert could smell smoke. '_No… get out of here… I SAID GET OUT!_' Almost instantly the flame flew out of the room and through the door. Gilbert sighed a little and relaxed. '_Was that a spirit or something? Weird… Wait, this isn't Matthew's house, this is… Oh no._'

From where he was sitting he could see smoke slowly starting to seep in through the cracks in the door. Gilbert kept glancing over at Matthew through the corner of his eye. He wanted Matthew to wake up. He needed Matthew to wake up.

'_Come on Birdie! Wake up! Just open your eyes! Get out of here! Your house is on fire! WAKE UP DAMN IT!_' When Matthew didn't move, Gilbert started to panic. If Matthew didn't wake up soon he would die. More and more smoke started to fill the room creating a haze, similar to what he experienced before things changed. Were they going to change again?

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

This constant swirling haze was starting to give Gilbert a headache. He seemed to be sitting on the ground in Matthew's current room during the night. '_Wonder what's going on here…_' He mused.

He got his answer sooner than expected. The window slowly opened, seemingly of its own will and a cool breeze blew through the air. In a matter of seconds a sheet fell into view, followed by Matthew's legs.

Gilbert watched curiously as Matthew slowly stumbled over to his wardrobe and pulled out some clean clothes. He pulled them on and walked over to the mirror. In the reflective surface of the mirror, Gilbert could see Matthew's face. His face was set in an emotionless way, while his eyes were full of conflicting emotions. They seemed to dance between angry, scared and emotionless.

'_Birdie… What are you doing?_' Wondered Gilbert. '_Come on, go back to bed. Don't go outside._' A chill ran down his spine. '_Tonight's the night where he gets attacked isn't it? Don't go out there Matthew! DON'T GO! STAY! YOU HAVE TO STAY!_'

Slowly Matthew turned and walked to the open window. Without hesitation he climbed out and the windows closed on their own. Gilbert sat there, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to do anything at all. As he attempted to keep himself calm he heard a bone chilling shriek. Signalling Matthew's attack.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

With Matthew's scream still ringing in his ears everything went out of focus and shifted back into focus. He knew where he was at the moment. He was sitting in Matthew's backpack. He knew what was happening. He could hear himself and Matthew talking in the background. Soon their talk fell silence. Gilbert assumed that this was the part when they fell into a slightly uncomfortable silence.

Gilbert frowned a little. He couldn't see them, but he could see the side of the door. Slowly it started to open, but it did so silently so as not to drawn anyone's attention. Through the darkness he saw a white face with no eyes.

'_Oh fuck! What the hell is that?!_'

The thing looked at him for a little while. As he stared back at the white faced person with the black sockets he could feel his heart starting to speed up in his chest. As he continued to look at it, black gunk started to flow out of its sockets. It slowly extended its hand, showing that its fingers were made from knives instead of flesh.

'_No… Don't touch me!_' Thought Gilbert desperately. '_No! Stay back! GO AWAY! NO! NO! NO!_' The creature reached out and snatched Gilbert away, plunging him into darkness.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

When Gilbert's eyes snapped open again he was sitting by a river. He looked down at himself and grinned. He was no longer in Kuma's body, but his own. He was more than a little happy about that situation. He looked around and almost jumped out of his skin. Sitting next to him was a woman in a white robe. Her long blond hair gently floated in the air like she was under water.

"W-who are you?" Asked Gilbert.

"Spirits have always been attracted to Matthew." Said the woman. "They seek him out and there's nothing he can do to stop it."

"Just answer my question." Said Gilbert sternly. He was tired of being fucked around with. "Who are you and where am I?"

The woman chuckled a little and shrugged. "I don't know… Where are you? Are you here or there? Are you even anywhere?"

"If you start to quote 'Green eggs and ham' I won't be impressed at all."

The woman smiled a little and looked at Gilbert. "Sorry… Matthew used to love that book… along with 'The Cat in the Hat' and 'The Cat in the Hat Comes Back'… I loved reading those stories to him when his mother and father left him in my care."

Gilbert looked at the woman in shock. "… Jacqueline?"

"In the flesh." She said happily. "Well… I don't actually have blood, bones, muscle or anything that resembled flesh… Anyway, you're Gilbert?"

"Ja, I'm Gilbert…" He said. "Where am I? Am I… dead?"

Jacqueline shook her head. "No… Think about this as more of an Astral Plane. When one happens to have a near death experience they sometimes come here, psychics have the ability to come here freely and communicate with spirits… and since you aren't dead or dying, guess what you are."

Gilbert shook his head a little in disbelief. "The fuck…? There's no way that I'm… Nope. No way."

"Why deny what you know is true?" Asked Jacqueline. "My dear boy, you saw first and what happens when you touched that amulet inside Kuma, didn't you? You can see events imprinted on objects and if I'm not mistaken you made all the glass in your room explode… I suggest you start wearing gloves until you can control you powers."

"You know you sound crazy, right?" Asked Gilbert.

"You know you sound like a close minded little shit, right?" Snapped Jacqueline. "Look, I love Matthew and I know you do to… He has a kind heart and always sees the best in everything, even that horrible girl that wants to murder you both… He want to help her move on, so stop being a pussy and help him."

"I'm not a pussy!" Snapped Gilbert in frustration. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I just… This isn't real… it can't be. This is just weird."

Jacqueline rolled her eyes. "Sceptical little shit. That's what you are. Stop acting like a fucking idiot and look at the facts! Help Matthew find out that girls name and find out why she died. If you two work together on this you'll both end up dead!" She sighed and crossed her arms. "One of you will end up getting stabbed to death and buried under a tree, while the other gets possessed and commits suicide."

"But possession is bullshit!" Cried Gilbert. "It's bullshit! It's just fucked up!"

"Lots of things in this world are strange un fucked up." Muttered Jacqueline. "Why not believe what he has to say? He's telling the truth and the longer you deny it the closer you two are coming to an untimely death."

"But how can I believe you?" Asked Gilbert. "How do I know this isn't some fucked up dream?"

Jacqueline sighed dramatically. "Really? Okay, how about this. You know the scorpion amulet inside Kuma? When you wake up in your world of physical existence the scorpion mark will be on your hand. If it's there as a healed scar on your palm you have to help him."

Gilbert chuckled. "Sure, but since this is just a dream it won't matter, will it?"

"Say what you will in your ignorance." Said Jacqueline. "Just remember, Kuma gave up his existence to try and stop her from killing him. He was like a family pet. A spirit without a home or purpose… since his physical has been destroyed he can no longer be with him…" She looked at Gilbert with determined eyes. "So I'm leaving him in your care. If you don't look after him I swear I will haunt you mercilessly! If you and Matthew ever have sexy times together I'll appear out of nowhere and scare you so much that you'll never get hard again!"

Gilbert shook his head. "Fine! Okay! I get it!"

"Good. Now close your eyes and count to three." She said happily.

The albino sighed and closed his eyes. "Fine… one, two three…"

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Gilbert opened his eyes and gasped. He was back in the playground. He dropped whatever was in his hand and violently shook. His body felt like it was freezing, but on fire at the same time. He didn't like this one bit.

'_Oh fuck… what the fucking happened?_' He looked at his watch and frowned a little. He couldn't have been standing there for more than five minutes. '_That was… Fuck…_'

He blinked a few times, trying to regain his senses. "Damn… that was just… that was messed up…" He looked down the palm of his right hand, quickly inspecting it. There was no scar mark in the shape of anything. It made him chuckle. "Just want I thought… just a dream."

He rubbed his palms together and sighed a little. '_Right… now I should probably find Matthew… Why does my left hand feel funny?_' He looked down at his left hand. His eyes went wide with both shock and mild fear. On his left hand was a scar in the shape of a scorpion.

"Well… Fuck."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **Finally… Gilbert believes him and maybe now they will get rid of her. Jacqueline doesn't take shit from nonbelievers… Gil better do what she says or she'll make sure he never has sexy times with Matthew… Perhaps she is a yaoi fangirl at heart or something? Anyway… Please review.


	32. Plan of Action

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… let's see what happens… I OWN NOTHING!

**Plan of Action**

'_I failed… I let Kuma die… I should have done more for him… Is there something I could have done differently? If only I knew about her earlier. Maybe I could have saved him._' These thoughts kept swirling around Matthew's head as he sank deeper and deeper into depression. He wanted to go back in time and save him, but he knew it was impossible. That thing took him. That thing murdered him. '_Should I… should I even try to save her now? She killed Kuma._'

A sudden knock at the door jolted Matthew out of his trance. He looked over at the door and watched as it slowly opened and Samuel looked in. "Matthew? Are you okay?"

"… Yes." Said Matthew quietly. "Everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

"You're crying." Said Samuel plainly. "What happened?"

Matthew shrugged. "I told you, nothing. Please… please just leave me alone… Just… I don't want to see anyone at the moment… I'm tired… so tired…"

Samuel sighed and sat next to the blond and gently patted his head. "Matthew… why do you keep hiding things from me?"

Matthew slowly closed his eyes and sighed a little. "Grandma…" He muttered. "It all has to do with her… and that thing that attacked me. Believe me if you want or don't. I honestly don't care anymore… I just want to sleep… Please, just let me have my rest…"

"… Have people been bullying you at school?" He asked in a concerned voice. "Is there someone who has been making things difficult for you?"

"No." Said Matthew quietly. "Please… just leave me alone. I want to sleep…"

Samuel sighed and slowly stood up. "Okay… Matthew, if you ever need to talk to someone you know you can talk to me."

"I know." Said Matthew quietly. He pulled the covers over his head, sinking into the mattress. "Goodnight… I just want to sleep. If Gilbert comes over or calls the home phone just tell him I'm sleeping and I don't want to see him."

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

The forest was cold and the fog was thick. He couldn't see more than a metre in front of his face. He sighed a little and started to walk. There was no point in staying still. He knew that she would still be out there. She was always out there and always watching. He didn't care though. He wanted to find her.

'_Come on… stupid bitch._' He thought bitterly. '_Where the hell are you? Come and find me already!_'

He got nothing in return. Not even the rustling of the leaves. It was frustrating. He was angry. He wanted to know why that thing killed Kuma. He may have been a toy, but he was the closest friend Matthew had. He had always been with him. Ever since he was born Kuma had always been with him. His earliest memories had been of Kuma.

He continued to walk through the thick fog, his breath hitching in his throat slightly. He knew why he was like this though. He was afraid to die. He didn't want that to happen again. He was tired of living in this nightmare.

"Come on!" He yelled. "I want to talk to you! Stop hiding and face me! Face me for a few damn seconds! I know you can hear me! This is your world! Your nightmare!"

The fog thinned a little, but it was still almost impossible to see anything. At least now he could kind of see the black lines of the trees. He still couldn't see the creature, the ghost girl or woman. He growled in frustration and kept walking.

In the distance he could see a tree that was different from the others. The base was wider and thicker, not to mention it was also the tallest tree there. The branches twisted and turned in the air. They looked like hands, clawing and scratching at the darkened sky. For some reason it made him imagine a giant trying to pull themselves out of the ground. The fog around the tree seemed disappear. Ominous.

Nervously, he approached the tree. It seemed so familiar for some reason. He knew he had been there before, but wasn't sure why… He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about that. He needed to see her.

"Come on! I'm right here! Talk to me, or at least show yourself! Come and get me!" He called. If she didn't show up soon he had no idea what he would do.

The sound of branches snapping drew his attention upward. The creature was in the tree. She looked down at Matthew, blinking. Thick black goo slowly oozed out of her sockets and hit the ground. If it wasn't for her paper white face he wouldn't have been able to see her at all.

"Why are you doing this?" He demanded. "Why do you want people to suffer the same way you did? What grudge do you hold against the town? I know that you were murdered, but that doesn't explain why one gets murdered and the other commits suicide!"

The creature just looked down at Matthew, slowly moving towards him. Her eyes were never blinking. He didn't understand what she was doing or why she was doing it either. Perhaps she was just trying to get close enough to him to murder him. That wouldn't have surprised Matthew in the slightest.

"Tell me why you keep killing the people in the town!" Cried Matthew. "I want to help you! I want to help you find your peace! Please, just listen to me! I want to help you! Try to understand!"

Spirits were difficult to talk to if they didn't want to listen. Many of them were overcome with emotions and were unable to be reached with words. Sometimes the only way they could be reached was with the right words or the right object. Since he had no objects he could only hope that his words could reach her.

"Who was he? Who died?" Asked Matthew. "Why did he commit suicide?"

The ghost girl looked at him strangely before slowly moving down so she was right in front of him. She leaned down so she was eyelevel with the blond. Her mouth cracked open, causing some of the black gunk hit the side of the blonds face. She mouthed something, but he couldn't hear her.

"W-what? I can't hear you."

The creature knocked Matthew onto the ground without hesitation and dug her bladed fingers into his chest, swiping at his clothes and skin. Matthew screamed in pain. He tried to black out, but it was impossible. He had to lay there and watch as he ripped away skin, bones and organs until there was nothing left.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

He gasped when he woke up. He heard was beating rapidly in his chest and his stomach was churning painfully, like he was going to be sick. Matthew quickly leapt out of bed and ran to the bathroom. He quickly slammed the door shut and vomited into the toilet.

He was there for a good five minutes until his vomit turned brown and started to taste like earwax. '_Crap… did I really just chuck up my stomach lining? Gross._'

Matthew slowly stood up on shaking legs and leaned against the sink. He needed to wash this taste out of his mouth. The taste of acid and blood. He didn't know why he kept tasting blood every time he threw up, but this time he could smell it too.

After washing his mouth out he slowly looked at himself in the mirror and gasped. His shirt was dotted with blood. Fresh blood. He knew that this wasn't the first time that she had attacked him and he woke up with marks on his body. But he was used to small cuts and bruises. Not deep cuts. He quickly pulled off his shirt and started to clean his wound to the best of his ability. When the wound was clean he looked at it and gulped. Three words were written on his chest.

_THEY KILLED HIM_

Matthew gulped and quickly grabbed some bandages. He needed to cover this up. It was just something he had to do. He couldn't let anyone see this. Who knows what they would think. They would probably think that he did it to himself.

Once his new cuts were covered he tried to go about his daily routine as normally as possible. It was still a school day after all. He left earlier than usual. He didn't want to talk to his uncle after what happened yesterday.

He quickly walked outside and was immediately hit with a freezing breeze. '_Wonderful… just wonderful… What a lovely ominous day to be alive…_'

With a sigh he started to walk to school. He doubted that the gates would be open at the moment, but you never know. The teachers could have gotten their really early or something. It would be nice to see if he could collect any of his things from yesterday. He had been to distressed to even try to get anything the day before.

The playground was pretty much deserted and pretty much all of his things were gone. He frowned a little. '_Oh… I guess the cleaners took everything away or something… Damn it._' He could feel his chest becoming heavy with regret. '_Damn it… Now I'll never see Kuma again… I… I'm such an idiot. I should have tried to pick up the pieces. What's wrong with me?_'

"Birdie!"

Matthew turned around and smiled a little. Gilbert was running towards him. He looked worried. "Are you okay Gil?"

Gilbert quickly caught up to Matthew and nodded. "Ja, I'm awesome. I was just getting here early to see if I could find anymore stuffing. The wind probably blew most of it away last night… Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay home after… after what happened."

The blond shrugged. "Doesn't matter… he was just a toy…"

Gilbert smiled a little. "You don't have to pretend Birdie. I know you miss Kuma so… I tried to fix him." He took a toy bear out of his backpack. It kind of looked like a Frankenstein bear. Some parts of it were a little misshapen and others just looked like they didn't belong at all. There were a few patches where the white fur was stained red.

"Gilbert… is that blood?"

"The sowing machine and I had a fight." Muttered Gilbert. He took the leather gloves off his hands to show off the band aids on his fingers and the ones across the back of his hands. "I pulled an all-nighter but I did it… sort of…"

Matthew nodded and took the bear. It was different from Kuma. He knew it, but at the same time he still felt happy to have him back. "Thank you… thank you so much Gil… But since when did you wear leather gloves?"

"Um… I'm just wearing them until my cuts have healed." Said the albino quickly. "I always end up picking at them and it just trouble for everyone."

Matthew didn't really believe him but nodded anyway. "Okay… I guess we've gotten here too early to actually inside…"

Gilbert nodded in agreement and he put his gloves back on. "Ja, but I think we should talk about her and try to figure out a way to send that bitch back to hell."

The blonds eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Eh? You believe me now? Why?"

The albino chuckled. "Let's just say that Jacqueline can be a real bitch when she wants to get her point across."

Matthew smiled a little and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Grandma was always something else… But do you really believe me?"

"Of course I do." Said Gilbert. "Well… I do now. I'm such an idiot for not believing you before… I have all this stuff from my cousin about the town that was here before and the murders, but just didn't connect the dots."

"It's okay." Said Matthew. "But was she really that horrible to you?"

"She just yelled at me a lot and said that we would both die if we didn't fix this." Said Gilbert. "So yeah, she was pretty bitchy." He took some papers out of his bag and gave them to Matthew. "Here. This is everything I know about the town before the name was changed and every possible thing I know about what she is."

The blond nodded and quickly looked through the notes. "Thanks… You know… we could just ditch school and go to the library to figure out who she is…"

"Sounds like a plan." Said Gilbert. "We can just photocopy a bunch of stuff an then head back to my place. It'll be awesome."

Matthew nodded in agreement. "Okay… but before we go I have one question for you… Well two. What's the real reason you're wearing gloves? The band aid thing, although plausible is ridiculous and have you ever had a dream with her and trees? Like a really big, dead ancient looking tree?"

Gilbert frowned and nodded. "Ja… I've had one with a tree in it… She ended up bursting out of the ground and trying killed me… As for the gloves… It's stupid. Don't worry about it."

"… I can move things with my mind." Said Matthew quietly. "Small things. Nothing large, and I can see things people wouldn't normally see… So whatever the reason you're wearing those gloves, no matter how silly I can handle it. Please tell me… please…"

"Birdie…" Gilbert sighed a little. "Okay, when I touch some objects I can see events that have happened in the past… When Kuma got ripped up he had a scorpion pendent in it and I saw everything he saw… I saw your mother while she was pregnant, I saw the even where your house caught on fire, I saw you the night you got attacked and I saw Kuma getting taken away by her yesterday."

Matthew nodded. He had read about this. "I see… then you should probably keep those gloves on. We don't need you suddenly freaking out because you've touched an old book and saw someone getting murdered."

Gilbert nodded in agreement. "Ja… let's go. The sooner we can get rid of her spirit the better." The two of them started to walk to the library. They had to find out who she was and why she did what she did. Once they found that out they could figure out how to make her spirit pass over. "… Hey, Matthew, have you ever… have you ever had a nightmare where you got eaten alive by birds?"

A chill ran through Matthew's body. He remembered that dream too well and he hated it. He remembered every peck, every scratch and every caw those birds made. "Y-yeah… why?"

"… I saw them eating you." Said Gilbert quietly. "Almost all your flesh and blood was gone but you still wouldn't die… Do you think it's a warning? Like of what's going to happen in the future?"

"Only if we fail." Said Matthew quietly. "If we don't set her spirit free we'll both end up dead."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **And now I shall go back to studying… please review!


	33. Fragments From Flint Valley

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… its been a while, I hope you all really like this… I OWN NOTHING!

**Fragments From Flint Valley**

Although Gilbert said he believed Matthew about the ghost, he still had his doubts about it. He felt like he just said that to save face. He didn't want to keep fighting with his boyfriend about something so stupid, but he still couldn't explain the scorpion scar on his hand.

Every now and then he would glance down at the scar through the glove and shudder. '_Damn… Do I really have the right to be sceptical at a time like this? I'm scared shitless that this is real, but I want to believe it isn't… I guess I'll just keep playing along until I can make a proper decision…_'

"Hey, are you listening to me Gil?" Asked Matthew.

Gilbert snapped out of his gaze and looked up at Matthew. The blond was partially covered by a small stack books. They were a mix between occult and history books. They had ditched school to see what they could find about the ghost girl. Gilbert just wanted to see if she actually existed.

"Sorry, Birdie. What did you say?"

Matthew sighed a little and went back to the book he was reading. "I was saying that if we found something that belonged to that ghost you could touch it and we might be able to find out how she died. What do you think? Would you be up for it?"

"Yeah sure." Muttered Gilbert. "Isn't there a small collection of stuff down in the town hall? It's really crappy and there's only one or two cabinets and like a million photos… If we find nothing here we could go there."

Matthew nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea…" He looked back over his book and frowned a little. "I wish there was an article about murders that happened way back then… it would make things so much easier for us."

"I guess that depends if it was a murder or not." Said Gilbert as an off handed comment. "Since we're all about the occult at the moment and we're talking about something that happened about a century ago, are we looking at a ritual? Like an occult ritual for summoning something? The ghost girl could have been a sacrifice."

The blonds lavender eyes widened in shock. It was as if the thought had never crossed his mind. "A sacrifice… She could have been murdered for a ritual… or she might have been killed if people thought that she was the cause of some misfortune, she could have been murdered that way…" he was muttering to himself now. His eyes were distant now and he seemed to be muttering things over and over again. The same words, just different phrasing.

'_Crap, I think I broke him… Oh well, back to work I guess._' He was looking over a book about the town's history. It was a very thin book. Less than fifty page long. It wasn't an official book or anything. It was just a specially printed book for the library. As far as he knew there was only one copy. There wasn't anything of much note in there. Mainly things about when things were built. The only thing that sounded like it would be any help was a small paragraph about how the town started up.

_The town of Cutter Valley has become quite a beautiful town, but even the nicest of places have some from rather unpleasant backgrounds. Before the town was known as Cutter Valley it was known as Flint Valley because of the large quantities of flint found here. During colloquial times it wasn't uncommon for disease and plagues to infect these groups. It is believed that the residents of Flint Valley may have fallen victim to a disease because they cut off all ties with other towns and placed quarantine signs around the town in a circle. It is unknown what happened during that time, but three years into the quarantine the town burnt down. There were no survivors. Five years later Cutter Valley was established and the town was started. It was named Cutter Valley after the founder, Tomas Cutter…_

The rest of the page had nothing to do with Flint Valley. He frowned a little. There was a picture on the page of the burnt remains of a town; bricks burnt black, trees turned to charred match sticks and everything just looked utterly decimated. He could almost smell the smouldering remains of the town seeping out of the picture.

'_I guess back then those bible wielding psychopaths would have thought that a devil or a witch might have caused their misfortune…_' He hummed a little at this prospect.

Matthew looked over at Gilbert. "Huh?"

"Oh it's just… a quarantine was put in place during when Flint Valley was still around and the whole place burnt down…" Said Gilbert. "The writer thinks that the town was infected with some kind of disease, then everyone burned to death."

Matthew frowned a little. "I see… Then I guess she might have been killed because the people thought she was a witch?" He nodded a little. He seemed to like that idea. "But we'd need to confirm it with something… If we could get a hold of something from Flint Valley we might be able to understand what happened there."

"I can see your logic, but I don't think we'll find much." Said Gilbert.

Matthew shrugged. "Well you did say that the town hall might have some stuff… If there's some stuff from Flint Valley, like metal work or some kind of glass… We could see if your powers can see what happened. If we could just get an idea about what happened we could free her spirit."

"Why are you so obsessed with freeing her spirit?" Asked Gilbert in mild frustration. "That bitch has killed so many people. Why does she deserve such sympathy?"

"Because she does." Snapped Matthew. "She was once a living, breathing person… She was probably murdered in some horrible way, maybe stabbed to death, and she's in pain… It would be horrible to suffer like that forever and ever. It would be like living a nightmare… and no one deserves to duffer a fate like that."

Gilbert sighed a little and went back to flipping through his book. '_Matthew… I guess in his eyes ghosts are people too. He's too kind hearted. Damn it… why am I feeding this obsession? I don't even believe half of the things he's saying or half the things I've found out._'

After a few minutes Matthew stood up and sighed. "I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to check some things… Maybe see if I can find the town birth and death records from ages ago. I'll probably come up with nothing, but it'll be good to check."

"Okay, you do that." Said Gilbert. He watched as Matthew disappeared around the bookshelves. Possibly going to the front desk to ask for some help.

When he was gone, Gilbert closed his book and looked back down at his hand. He could feel the scar rubbing against the leather of his glove. It felt odd. He wasn't sure if he liked the feeling or not. It was just something that was there. He wasn't even sure why he was wearing the gloves.

The albino slowly clenched his hand a few times. It was almost like he was checking that it was still working. '_Can I really believe that weird dream? It seems more like some kind of drug hallucination or something, but it was too vivid to be fake… I really don't want to risk actually seeing that creepy old lady when Birdie and I actually do end up…_' He frowned a little. '_Huh, we haven't had sex yet have we? I guess we've just been too caught up with everything… Whatever, we can do it later._'

He sighed a little and looked over some of the books on the desk. Quite honestly, he had never done so much reading of a topic before in his life. Not even for exams. He preferred to just wing it rather than actually work hard.

He picked up a book on ghosts and quickly flicked through it. Just to occupy himself until Matthew came back. Nothing really jumped out at him. He yawned a little. '_Everything… it's just so weird…_'

After a few minutes Matthew came back. He was smiling a little and was carrying some photocopies from some book. He sat down next to Gilbert and showed him the pages. "I couldn't find any death records, but the lady at the front desk took me down to the basement to look at the archives. A few bits of paper and one or two books were saved, though badly burnt… I managed to convince her to let me photocopy a few pages from one of the books. I'm sure that there's more, but I got a few pages."

Gilbert nodded and took a few pages. A few of them seemed to be pages from an old diary. Some were written in French and other's in English. At least there were accounts from two people. "What does the French one say?"

Matthew took the page back and quickly read over it. "It written by a man… he keeps talking about his dead wife… and a young couple that he blames for her death. The woman was apparently a young woman who kept to herself and the young man that was cheerful, but was distant… It doesn't go into detail, but it mentions something about them not getting sick while everyone else was. The rest of the page is burnt and I can't read it."

"Really?" Asked Gilbert. "Interesting… So I guess the this woman might have been murdered because people thought she was a witch, but what about her husband or boyfriend? What happened to him?"

"Maybe he died in the fire?" Suggested Matthew. "Or maybe he committed suicide? That would explain why one person gets murdered and another commits suicide."

His argument was logical. If they both died a violent death they could possibly both be haunting this town out of vengeance. But there was one thing Gilbert didn't like about it. From what he knew about hauntings and ghosts they happened when someone died a horrible death and they felt that they needed to avenge it. But people that are suicidal don't care for revenge. They just want to die. They would have no grudge against the living world.

"But the suicidal want to die…" Said Gilbert. "Why would a suicidal person want to haunt the living?"

Matthew frowned a little as the thought this over. "Maybe the man passed on but the woman couldn't? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Yeah, that's true." Agreed Gilbert. He chuckled a little. "Liz is definitely the poster child of that comment. She's such a crazy bitch sometimes… She's a freaking psycho."

"I guess so…" Said Matthew quietly. He had that distant look in his eyes again as he started to mutter incomprehensible things under his breath.

The albino sighed a little and gently shook Matthew's shoulder. "Birdie… Come on. Let's just get what we need for now then head back to my house… Is that okay?" The blond nodded in agreement, the pair gathered their things and left.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Eventually they got back to Gilbert's house. When they got there, Matthew made himself comfortable in the lounge room with all his notes while Gilbert went to the kitchen to make something for them to eat. Although he was mediocre at cooking it did help him to calm down a little.

Since he didn't have a lot in the fridge he ended up cooking lots of leftovers in the frying pan. He wasn't even sure what he was cooking, but at least it didn't smell gross. '_What the hell am I cooking anyway? Some kind of risotto with leftover schnitzel, wurst, macaroni and vegetables… I think I might end up poisoning someone with this… _'

"Hey, Birdie!" Called Gilbert. "Are you okay with eating potentially poisonous food?"

"As long as it hasn't been made by that British guy, Arthur, I'm sure you won't need to call an ambulance." Replied Matthew.

Gilbert shrugged. "Okay, but I warned you." He got two bowls and scooped out the mixture. It had the consistence of glue and hit the bottom out the bowl with a disturbing squishy. It was a multi coloured mess that looked slightly pixelated without it meaning to be. "Not to self; never, ever, ever try to pursue a career as a chef… I don't want to get sued any time soon."

He stuck a spoon into each bowl and walked out to the lounge room. He gave a bowl to Matthew, who put it on the table to cool down a little. Gilbert on the other hand dared to eat his own cooking. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but it wasn't the best either. He sighed and put his bowl on the floor before quickly picking up some paper. This one was a photo copy of a fragmented piece of diary, written in English. It seemed to be written by a doctor.

_Everyday people keep falling over dead. They are covered from head to toe in disgusting pimples and horrible rashes. Those infected with this cursed disease complain about muscle pain, headaches, they vomit and scratch. The pustules ooze foul milky fluids, deflate and fill up with more fluids, starting the process all over again. Then there are the ones that just bleed out through the skin. The whites of their eyes eventually turn a deep red and people die within a week of showing the first symptoms. Everyday more and more people are getting sick. There is no cure. I don't want more people to die. This is worse than the Black Death. It spreads so quickly and kills without discrimination. Men, women, children, young and old. The only ones not affected by this illness are the people living in isolation and that couple living in that house on that hill. I'm certain that they were the ones that brought it here. They are cursed. I'm sure of it._

The rest of the page was burnt and impossible to read. Gilbert frowned a little and breathed out through his nose. "It was smallpox."

"Huh?"

"This place… this community was riddled with smallpox. In biology we looked at diseases and we looked over smallpox. From what I read it seems like the couple were carriers of this strain of smallpox and unknowingly passed it onto the town…"

"Then the fire wiped out everyone in the town." Said Matthew. "This way the disease and all the bodies were disposed of, leaving no possible way for the disease to spread and the only evidence that the disease ever happened was through the quarantine and a scrap of paper… But that's all just a theory isn't it?"

Gilbert nodded in agreement. "Ja… The couple must have been ostracized by the townspeople too. The woman could have been stabbed to death and buried like the other murder victims and the man probably hung himself to he wouldn't have to suffer without his love anymore."

"Or he could have poisoned himself and then hung himself." Said Matthew calmly. "That would explain why the suicide victims either poison or hang themselves… Perhaps the woman saw him kill himself as a spirit and got so angry that she set the town on fire and continued her grief by murdering others when Cutter Valley was established?"

"To quote what you said earlier; Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Muttered Gilbert. "But it's like you said. It's all just theories. We have no evidence that the ghost was part of the couple that the townspeople didn't like."

"True… but it sounds like the most logical solution." Muttered Matthew. "If she is upset about losing her lover it would be best to reunite them…"

"How the hell are we going to do that?" Asked Gilbert. "We don't even know who these people were or if they are even the right people who became ghosts and stuff… I'm sure lots of people might have committed suicide when they found out they had no chance of living?"

"In that case then we should be up to our necks with angry spirits that want to keep living."

"Good point, but not all murder victims end up as evil spirits." Said Gilbert. "If that was true… the whole world would be full of evil spirits. Considering all the wars people have died in and the murders that have occurred over time."

Matthew shrugged. "Perhaps this woman has one hell of a grudge? I know that if I was killed and then I had to watch you die I would get so angry at the people who drove you to do it… After I killed them, I might go after people that remind me of those people and keep killing them as punishment, so others would know my pain…" He got that distant look again. It was disturbing.

"Hey, Birdie. Snap out of it." Said Gilbert sternly.

Matthew looked up at Gilbert. His face exploded into a furious blush. "S-sorry! I-I didn't mean to get like that… It-It just happens sometimes!"

Gilbert chuckled a little. "Birdie, you don't need to freak out so much. I'm not mad at you at all… It just freaks me out a little when you do that."

Matthew nodded. "Okay… I guess all we need to do now is confirm how this woman died and then free her spirit… We need a remanent from Flint Valley to do this though."

"So… are we going to break into the locked cabinets in the town hall?" Asked Gilbert.

"Looks that way." Said Matthew.

"Wonderful." Muttered Gilbert. "Should I pack a crowbar?"

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **And that's the end of that chapter… Please review.


	34. Husband and Wife

**Shinigami-cat: **Well, here's the next chapter… I OWN NOTHING!

**Husband and Wife**

Matthew was a little worried about going to the town hall to search for objects from Flint Valley. He had read about psychics that could do the things Gilbert said he could do. They would touch objects and be taken back in time to important events that were imprinted on those objects.

Depending how personal the object was would affect the way the psychic experienced the event. If the item wasn't very personal and was something like a street sign the events seen would be viewed like watching a movie. The psychic would be able to think clearly and make their own opinions about the matters at hand. If they touched a personal object, like a necklace they could be completely lost in their own visions. They would think that whatever event they were witnessing was happening to them and they would get completely involved in what they saw.

The latter was extremely dangerous. If they weren't strong enough they could snap depending on the severity of the event played before them. Matthew didn't want that to happen to Gilbert. That would be too much for him.

They were walking around the side of the building now. They were looking for a way in. The town hall had a few rooms off from the main hall for small meetings that didn't need many people. Usually they were used as planning rooms. One of the ones close to the back was used as a makeshift museum.

That was the room they needed to find. Although Gilbert had suggested using a crowbar he had changed his mind at the last second and brought a screwdriver instead. It was easier to conceal at least while walking through town.

'_I hope we can find out the truth soon…_' Thought Matthew sadly. '_I want this to end as soon as possible._'

"It's in here." Muttered Gilbert. He was pointing to a frosted window that was partially open. If they tried they could probably just fit inside.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Asked Matthew. "I-I don't want to get into trouble over this…"

The albino just chuckled as he slowly opened the window a little bit more. "Come on. The sooner we get this done the sooner everything can go back to normal, right?"

"I guess…" Muttered Matthew. He really wanted this to be over, but he didn't like the idea of breaking into a building to do it.

"Alright then. Let's get going." Said Gilbert. He albino easily pulled himself inside and helped Matthew in after him.

The room had an old musky smell, much like old books mixed with varnish. It stung Matthew's nose a little, but he didn't hate it too much. There was a book case off to one side filled with old books. Mainly encyclopaedias, old children's books and some other knick knacks. Along the opposite wall were a few glass cabinets filled with bits and pieces of Flint Valley.

Matthew frowned a little and walked over to have a look at what was there; a few burnt pictures, a burnt rosary, a sign fragment and some simple coloured glass. Possibly from a church window or a trinket.

"What do you think we should use?" Asked Gilbert.

"Not sure…" Muttered Matthew. "Try the sign first. After that the glass, the photos and then the rosary." Hopefully they could get answers from the first ones and not bother with the rosary. He didn't want to risk Gilbert having to touch something that would make him crazy.

The albino nodded and started to fiddle with the lock. It was an old cabinet so it didn't take too long for Gilbert to snap the lock off. With the lock removed they slowly eased the cabinets open. Despite what the townspeople had done to try and preserve it, the item still smelt like decay.

Gilbert sighed a little and took off one of his gloves. He nervously ghosted his fingers of the black and splintered wood. He sighed and touched it. He frowned a little and looked over at Matthew. "Um…?"

"The other things then?" Suggested Matthew.

Gilbert got the same results with the glass and the photos. Although, he did look extremely uneasy when he touched the photos. It was possible he felt a presence, but it was too weak for him to see anything. They had only the rosary left.

'… _Maybe it'll be a dead end too._' Thought Matthew. '_The others were so this one might be too… But it's a personal item so it might not be. It could hold some really vivid memories… I just… I don't know._'

Gilbert sighed a little and picked up the rosary. Some of the beads had cracked off and crumbled over time, but there were a few that still stayed hanging on along with the small cross. It seemed to be made from some kind of stone or bone. He turned it a few times in his hand and sighed. "Birdie… I think we're at a dead end. I'm not getting anything… Maybe I can't really see that kind of stuff after all…"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah… I guess so… Come on, we'll find another way to solve this." He closed one of the cabinets and waited for Gilbert to put the rosary back before leaving. "Let's go Gil… Gil?"

Gilbert didn't put the rosary back, instead he was clutching them tightly to his chest. So tightly in fact that you could hear him grinding them together. His eyes had gone blank, he was breathing heavily and he was shaking. It almost looked like he was possessed.

Matthew gulped as he watched the albino. He wasn't sure of this is what was meant to happen, but he didn't know if he could stop it either. He had read about this happening, but seeing it was completely different. The air around Gilbert just seemed cold. Freezing.

Suddenly his knees gave out and he fell to the ground. Matthew only just managed to catch him and stop him from hitting the ground. He was going into convulsions and Matthew was starting to panic. '_Crap! Crap! Crap! What do I do? This is bad right? Crap! Wait why do I have blood on my hand? Shit! He's biting his lip! What do I do? What do I do?_'

Before Matthew could think about this further, Gilbert suddenly sat up and gasped. He threw the rosary back into the cabinet and quickly scrambled to his feet, pulling his glove back on.

"G-Gil? Are you okay?" Asked Matthew in concern. Gilbert looked completely freaked out, like he had seen a ghost.

He looked over at Matthew with terrified eyes. "I have to show you something… Now." He grabbed Matthew's arm and pulled him over to the window.

"Eh? Where are we going?" Asked Matthew.

"Your house." Said Gilbert. "Or more specifically her house."

Matthew's eyes went wide with shock. "Her house?"

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Gilbert said nothing the rest of the way there. It was scaring Matthew. He wanted to know what Gilbert had seen. He needed to know. If he didn't find out soon he felt like he was going to go mad. As soon as they got to Matthew's place, Gilbert broke his silence. "Is your uncle home?"

Matthew shook his head. "I don't think so… He should be at work."

"Good…" Muttered the albino. "Where's the shovel?"

"In the basement I think… You know how to get in there." Said Matthew.

Gilbert nodded and quickly went off to retrieve the shovel. Once he had it he started to wander around the backyard as if he was looking for something. Several times he stabbed the shovel into the ground before shaking his head and quickly moving somewhere else.

"What on earth are you looking for Gilbert?" Asked Matthew. "Please, you're scaring me!"

Gilbert frowned a little and started digging next to an old rotted tree stump. "Birdie… where your house is… It's no accident that the morgue caught fire. The morgue was built over where her house was…"

"Eh? You got that from rosary beads?" Asked Matthew.

"No…" Whispered Gilbert. "I saw them kill her… The Priest was part of the mob that chased her out of town and stabbed her to death. They chased her until her feet started bleeding and they stabbed her over and over again until the ground was saturated in her blood… They then took the remains and lazily buried her under a tree… I saw and heard everything."

Matthew nodded. He couldn't help but feel guilty. He knew that something like that would happen, but he didn't expect him to see her murder. "I'm sorry… What happened with her husband?"

"The Priest, along with a few other people found him hanging in his house. His suicide note said; 'I'm sorry. I can't keep living here with these people. I'm sorry, but at least we'll be able to see each other in heaven'… He knew that she was going to get murdered… they both knew it."

Matthew shivered a little. "That's… that's horrible… So they both knew that they were going to die, but didn't leave."

"I think they were planning to leave…" Said Gilbert. "Everything in their house had been packed, but the townspeople got to them first and killed her… I guess she blames them for what happened to him…" His shovel hit something. "Bingo." He quickly bent down and pulled out a small metal box. It looked like an old expensive jewellery box.

"What's that?" Asked Matthew.

Gilbert sighed and opened the box. Inside was a small pouch of coins and a few other personal bits and pieces. "Two immigrants life savings." Muttered the albino bitterly. "The Priest over heard them talking about escaping the town and living somewhere safer… Somewhere not riddled with disease and death. They mentioned digging up their savings so that they could leave… They never got to though."

"That's terrible…" Whispered Matthew. He took the box out of Gilbert's hands and had a quick look through it. At the bottom was a photograph of a man and a woman. On the back it, it said '_Rosalind Pond (19) and Edmund Pond (23) 1789_'. He looked back at the woman and frowned. She was a tall, thin woman with long black hair and cheerful eyes. "They look so happy…"

"I think they were happy." Muttered Gilbert. He started to fill in the hole. "Don't show me their picture… I don't want to see them again. Not after I saw them both die."

"I understand." Said Matthew. He put the photo back in the box and smiled a little. "I'm going to keep this for a while… It'll help me figure out how to peacefully exorcize her spirit."

"I don't mind." Muttered Gilbert. He sounded so out of it and distant now. He was probably reminiscing over what he had seen.

Matthew smiled a little and took Gilbert's hand. "Come on… Let's go inside. I'll make us something to eat and we can forget all about what happened today." The albino nodded in agreement and the two walked inside via the basement. Once inside, Matthew lead Gilbert to the lounge room and went to the kitchen. "Do you want pancakes?"

"…I'd rather have something to drink." Said Gilbert.

"Hot chocolate?" Suggested Matthew. It was rapidly becoming colder and colder making it perfect for hot chocolate.

"Sounds good." Said Gilbert. Matthew nodded and quickly made some hot chocolate for them. He quickly took it out to Gilbert once he was done and sat next to him. The albino nodded and took a sip. "Thanks… How do you deal with it?"

"Deal with that?"

"The ghosts… the spirits… knowing that they died a horrible death and there was nothing you could do to stop it." Whispered Gilbert.

Matthew shrugged. "I don't know. I guess you just have to stop seeing death as death and see it as a new beginning… If you do that it's easier to accept that everyone dies eventually."

"But these two were murdered…" Said Gilbert. "Well one was and the other committed suicide… I just… It's hard."

Matthew nodded in agreement. "I guess so… But I've been forced to see her and I've seen her kill me so many times that I've kind of become numb to those kinds of things… but I'll always be here for you if you ever need to talk. I'll do everything that I can to help you."

Gilbert nodded a little and took another sip. "Thanks…" He looked down at his gloved hand and frowned. "I'll never be able to touch anything again will I?"

"That's not true." Said Matthew quickly. "You can still touch me…" His face went bright red when he realized what he just said and how it could be taken the wrong way. "I um… That's not what I meant…"

Gilbert chuckled. "I know what you meant Birdie… I guess I can still touch living things, it's just objects that I'll have trouble with."

"Yeah… But it's not a big deal." Said Matthew happily. "If you could put up with me being all crazy, I sure can put up with anything that happens with you. I know I can."

Gilbert smiled and kissed Matthew's cheek. "Thank you Birdie… You have no idea how much I love you because of that."

Matthew blushed a little and smiled happily. "I love you too Gil… Thank you for doing what you did… We wouldn't have been able to figure out who they were if you didn't do what you did… Do you know where she's buried?"

Gilbert frowned and nodded. "Ja… I know where she is… We're going to need to go there eventually aren't we?"

"I'm afraid so." Said Matthew quietly. "But at least it will be the first and only time we have to see her… Once everything's done everything can go back to normal. Right?"

Gilbert nodded in agreement. "Ja… But it sucks that I can't touch anything in case I have one of those stupid fits."

"How do you know you look like you're having a fit?" Asked Matthew.

"Because I feel like shit afterwards." Said Gilbert with a grin.

Matthew chuckled a little. "Maybe if you practiced a few times you wouldn't feel so bad. It's like a muscle. The more you work it the stronger it gets, or in your case you'll be able to control it so it won't be as intense as before."

Gilbert smiled a little. "That would be nice."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **It's all coming to an end… soon… very soon… please review.


	35. Exorcism

**Shinigami-cat: **Well… here is how things are going down… I OWN NOTHING!

**Exorcism **

It had been a week since they had found out the truth and Matthew had locked himself away in his room. It was honestly worrying for Gilbert. He didn't want Matthew to do something crazy or stupid, but he knew that Matthew was trying to figure out ways to free Rosalind's spirit.

He sighed a little as he looked out the window. It was the middle of biology, so he didn't really care. '_I can see the bloody forest from every damn window… Shit I feel like she's watching me all the time…_' He started to drum his pen against the table. '_So her husband hung himself after drinking a bottle of god knows what… Is that why I tried to drink that acid but I don't remember it? People that are possessed don't remember it, right?_'

"Are you okay Gil?" Whispered Francis. "You seem off."

"Ja…" Muttered Gilbert, not moving his gaze from the window. "Things have just gotten really weird lately…"

"Things with Matthew?" Asked the blond.

Gilbert nodded. "Ja. I haven't seen him all week. We still text and stuff, but I guess he's sick or something."

The Frenchman nodded in understanding. "Ah… Do you know if this is a physical thing or a mental thing?"

"Physical." Growled Gilbert.

Francis rolled his eyes. "I was just asking. No need to bite off my head. I was just wondering, considering his history of mental health."

Gilbert glared at his friend. "Shut the fuck up about that or the next time we go a prac I will stab you in the eye was a probe." He sighed a little and ran his fingers through his hair. "Sorry… this past week's just been so stressful lately. I just… I just want the weekend to come."

"Oui… fine, I forgive you." Said Francis. He leaned back in his chair a little and yawned. "You're just worried about Matthew… By the way, what's with the gloves?"

Gilbert looked down at his hands and shrugged. "I just like wearing them. Got a problem?"

"Damn, you really are crabby." Muttered Francis. "What's wrong? You want to move your relationship to a more physical one and Matthew's not having any of it?"

"Of course you would think this was all sex related." Said Gilbert. He looked back out the window and sighed. He wanted to see Matthew soon. "I just want to see him again…"

"Fair enough." Said Francis. He sighed a little. "I cannot for the life of me remember chemical bonds… That's the whole reason I took biology!"

Gilbert chuckled a little. Francis was an odd one at the best of times. He was about to zone out again when his phone vibrated. He quickly took it out and checked the text he just received.

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Meet me outside my bedroom window at 11pm._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__So you figured out a way to get rid of her for good?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Yes._

_**SENT:**__ Gilbert  
__Well, what is it?_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__You'll find out soon enough._

_**SENT: **__Gilbert  
__Don't be like that. I haven't seen you in ages! Just tell me what it is already!_

_**FROM: **__Birdie  
__Meet me outside my bedroom window at 11pm. I suggest taking a nap beforehand. This is going to be draining._

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

The time was 10:45. Fifteen minutes before Gilbert needed to meet Matthew, but he was already there. He needed to see him again. He would have gone through the window, but it was locked and the curtains were closed. He ended up just sitting under the window and waiting for Matthew.

It gave him time to have a look around and think about what they were going to do. The sky was nothing more than an inky black, lightly from the moon illuminated the forest slightly and fine flakes of snow started to fall from the scattered clouds. It was creepy.

After a few minutes he heard the window unlock and open. He looked up to see Matthew. In all honesty the blond looked exhausted. "Hey… Are you okay Birdie? You look really tired."

Matthew nodded and quickly jumped out of the window. "Yeah… It's just been a really intense week… She just kept invading my dreams and I just felt like she was watching me all the time."

"I know the feeling…" Muttered Gilbert. "I've felt like she's been watching me forever… It makes me sick."

"I know how you feel." Said Matthew. He turned on his flashlight and smiled a little. "Well… I guess this is it. Would you mind leading the way? I don't know where she is buried."

Gilbert nodded and stood up, taking Matthew's hand. "Are you sure you want to do this tonight? We could wait for some other time if you like. You look way too tired to do this."

Matthew shrugged. "I'm fine. Let's go please. The sooner we can free her the better, right?"

Gilbert couldn't really argue with that. The two of them started their long walk through the forest to the place where Rosalind's bones were buried. When they were deep within the trees where the branches and leaves became dense and the moon offered almost no light, Gilbert decided to speak again.

"What's your method?"

"My method?" Asked Matthew.

"How do you plan on doing this?" Asked Gilbert. "She wants us to die so it's not as if we can just talk to her."

Matthew sighed a little. "Gil… I have to try and reason with her first. I'll talk to her and try to persuade her to leave peacefully. I've read that if a spirit realizes what they have done they can find the strength to leave and pass on… If she can't do that I'll use another way."

"Do you even have another way?" Asked Gilbert. This idea was sounding less and less like a good thing and more like something that would turn them into a mention in the obituaries. That thought made him ill.

The blond laughed lightly at Gilbert's worries. "Of course I do. The talking is simply a last ditch attempt at asking her nicely to leave. If not I have other ways…"

"Care to explain your other ways?"

"Later." Said Matthew. "… Hey, if this doesn't work and we end up getting killed… I just want to say I'm sorry and I love you."

"You don't need to say that Birdie." Said Gilbert. "We're not going to die… I trust that you know what you're doing… I love you too." The blond gently squeezed Gilbert's hand and they continued to walk.

Gilbert frowned a little as he walked. He could remember where she ran and where they found her and where they dragged her corpse. '_Past these trees and over the stream… To the foot of a hill surrounded by jiggered rocks… That's the place where she was murdered._' As they passed those rock formations he felt a shiver run down his spine. '_Those bastards… Past the rocks and past the cave… Into a small clearing where a lone maple tree stands… Beneath the maple tree lays the bodies of the dead…_'

The old maple tree was very different from that of his visions. Back then it looked alive and beautiful, unable to hold such dark secrets. Now it was dead and its branches were thick and twisted, reminding him of clawing hands. This place was where she was buried and forgotten.

"Is this the place?" Asked Matthew.

Gilbert nodded. "Ja… She was buried at the base of this maple tree… Didn't you say she would be here?"

Matthew nodded. "Yeah… She's here. I can't see her at the moment, but she knows we're here and she's getting angry about it. She's not happy at all… Oh god… look at the ground!" He pointed the flashlight at the base of the tree. Blood was oozing out of the dirt.

Gilbert gulped and tried to take a step back, but found he was unable. His legs were frozen in place. "Birdie, I can't move!"

"N-neither can I!" Squeaked Matthew. He was starting to hyperventilate a little. "S-she's here… she's going to kill us…" He gulped a little. "Stick with the plan… just stick with the plan." He seemed to be repeating this more for his own benefit than for Gilbert's.

A thick fog started to slowly swirl out from the ground from spot where the blood. Through the fog Rosalind appeared. Her appearance was as bleak and dark as ever with her long black dress, messy matted hair, gleaming bladed fingers and paper white face with those shining black pools known as sockets. Black ooze ran down her face like mascara.

She tilted her head slightly to look over at Gilbert, making her neck crack in the process. It was a disgusting noise that made the albino's skin crawl. It was like listening to bones braking. With her gaze on Gilbert she smiled wide. So wide in fact that it almost looked like her face split in half. Rosalind slowly raised her hand and flicked her fingers towards him, forcing Gilbert to slide back a few metres. It felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.

"Fuck!" He hissed. "Matthew! Whatever you're doing, do it now!"

Matthew nodded and took a deep breath. "Rosalind! We understand your pain! We know that you just want someone to understand what you went through and you want people to suffer, but killing innocent people is not the way!"

Rosalind didn't move. She just tilted her head and made some kind of strange growling noise deep in the back of her throat. A gust of wind blew past Matthew's face, making him flinch. A thin cut formed on his face and blood started to ooze out of it at an unnaturally fast rate.

"Matthew! This isn't working! We need to do something else, quick!" Snapped Gilbert. He was starting to freak out. He didn't know how to deal with something like this. If Matthew couldn't appease her spirit she would murder them both.

Matthew shook his head. "N-no! I can do this!" He dug his hands into his pockets, frantically searching for something. "Rosalind! I-I know it hurts to lose a loved one, someone close to you. I've lost my whole family, the only one I have left is my uncle!" Another gust of wind blew past Matthew, cutting through his shirt and chest.

'_Fuck… how the hell can I get him out of here?_' Thought Gilbert desperately. '_I just… I have to get him out of here, but I can't even move!_'

Rosalind, obviously unsatisfied with Matthew's lack of panic started to move towards him. Her dirty, knotted hair twisted and curled around creating a frightening image and her eye sockets seemed to be pulled unnaturally wide and her mouth was pulled into a grimace. This time, instead of black gunk pouring out of her mouth it was thick, crimson blood.

Matthew gulped a little, but stood his ground. "It hurts to lose people close to you… So I'm going to give you back the person you love the most." He took a think wooden carving out of his pocket and held it up to her. Rosalind stopped dead in her tracks and looked at it. "Take your husband and leave this town forever!"

Gilbert looked at the cutting and frowned. '_What? Isn't that a hitogata? _'

Matthew tossed the wooden carving into the air. Almost instantly a strange blue aura surrounded the carving and it changed into a strange featureless shape. It hovered in the air for an unnatural amount of time before its features changed to look more human. The ghostly human shape looked down at Rosalind and stretched out its hand towards her.

Rosalind hesitated for a second, but took his hand anyway. The effect was almost immediate, Rosalind's dark and disturbing formed changed from one of a monster into a blue spirit like the other. They looked at each other for a moment before slowly fading away completely. Leaving Gilbert and Matthew alone in the darkness.

Gilbert stumbled forwards slightly, he was no longer stuck to the spot at all. He rushed over to Matthew. The blond hadn't moved from his spot since the spirits had disappeared. "M-Matthew? Birdie? Are you okay?"

Matthew smiled a little and nodded. He genuinely looked happy. "Yeah… I know you probably can't see this now… but there are bright spirit lights everywhere… They are giving off a happy and positive energy… It's beautiful."

The albino smiled a little and hugged Matthew tightly. "Awesome… What the heck did you do anyway?"

The blond giggled a little. "I used a hitogata to free her spirit. I told you a while ago that they could stand in as someone's replacement didn't I? I was able to use the hitogata to make a replacement for Edmund Pond. There was no way to bring the real Edmund Pond to her so I had to do that. All I needed was Edmund's name and birth, which I got from the photograph… I honestly didn't think it would work…"

"… So you were bluffing when you said you had a way that would work?" Asked Gilbert in shock. "We could have died! Why would you do that?"

"Would you have let me do this if I said I had no idea if this would work?" Asked Matthew.

Gilbert frowned a little. "I guess you're right…"

"It's all over now." Said Matthew happily. "I guess things can go back to normal now eh?"

"Ja, normal…" Muttered Gilbert. "Whatever normal is for us anyway."

**TBC**

**Shinigami-cat: **One more chapter! That's all I have to say! Just one more! Please review!


	36. Epilogue

**Shinigami-cat: **Okay, so here's the last chapter. Nothing super long, just a little wrap up… I OWN NOTHING!

**Epilogue**

Early next spring Rosalind's bones were discovered and taken somewhere to be studied. From the bones they were able to tell she died around the late 1800's and died from stab wounds. They didn't know the while story, they could only guess why and how she died. Only Matthew and Gilbert knew the whole truth.

Once Gilbert's parent's found out that he was still dating Matthew and had no intention of being in a heterosexual relationship with a woman they disowned him. The albino didn't give a fuck about that though because he moved in with his grandfather.

Said grandfather also wrote Gilbert's parents out of his will. Just a little something to say you did a good job raising your kids now fuck off from beyond the grave.

Matthew himself had improved dramatically since Rosalind had left. He no longer suffered severe panic attacks or hallucinations. From a medical point of view he was healthy again. This of course was a huge relief for everyone.

Concerning their psychic abilities, both Matthew and Gilbert had been practicing over and over again. They were almost perfect at controlling their abilities now. Gilbert had even started wearing fingerless gloves. He was still a little cautious though and wasn't too thrilled about the scorpion scar on his palm either.

After spending a few years in Cutter Valley the pair decided that they wanted to travel around Europe for a while. A few week turned into months and a few months turned into years. Eventually the pair settled down in Germany, a small town close to the French boarder. It was peaceful. They liked it.

Eventually though they needed to get jobs and that's where things got interesting. Apparently there are a lot of haunted places in Europe and more than enough people that are willing to pay big money to get rid of them.

While they both had psychic powers it was Matthew who felt more comfortable using them. Gilbert was more interested in the science behind it and developed his skills as a psychic researcher. Luckily for the both of them the psychic community welcomed them with open arms and were more than happy to help them if things got too difficult.

**XoXoXo page brake oXoXoX**

Matthew sighed a little as he lied down on the couch in the reception room. He really couldn't be bothered to do anything at the moment. To block out the light he had a magazine over his face. He knew it was a little silly, but he didn't care. '_This is boring… I need entertainment or something…_'

Almost as if on cue he heard the clickity clack of a rolling chair. "Birdie, this is no time for sleeping! We have things to do!"

"What? Papers to file?" Asked Matthew half-heartedly. "You're better at paper work than me. You do it. You're the one that decided to do most of the desk work."

"That's because you have no idea what people are saying half the time." Said Gilbert. "Learn more German."

"I know enough to buy bread and beer." Said Matthew with a small smile. "That's all I need to know."

"Nice try, but no." The phone rang and Gilbert rolled away to the desk. After a few minutes of talking Gilbert hung up and rolled back over to Matthew, pulling the magazine off the blond's face. "Come on beautiful. We have an old haunted house to deal with."

Matthew rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up, yawning. "Where is it?"

"An old manor in East Germany." Said Gilbert. "Apparently some politician inherited the place and over the past few years people have gone missing… Sounds a little like Amnesia…"

Matthew frowned a little. "Okay… So I'm going to assume that this politician doesn't wish to be named at the moment? We'll find out who they are when we get there?"

"Ja, pretty much." Gilbert got up and started to look through some files. "Sounds like a poltergeist to me… Apparently things keep moving in there."

Matthew chuckled a little. "I bet it was used during world war two for secret Nazi experiments."

"Why is that always the first thing you think of when you hear that we're investigating an old house in Germany?"

Matthew shrugged and stood up stretching. "Blame Hollywood. Every time Germans are involved they are after the Holy Grail, the Arc or are opening the gates of hell."

"Thank you Mr Racist." Muttered Gilbert. He shoved some files into his back pack and tossed it at Matthew, who easily caught it. "Tell you what, if it is Nazi experiments I'll dress up as a slutty nurse next time we have sex."

Matthew blushed bright red at that thought. "A-and If I'm wrong?"

Gilbert smirked. "BDSM."

"Deal." Said Matthew quickly. He slung the bag over his shoulder and quickly walked to the door, doing his best to rid his mind of those images. "Are the cameras still in the van or do we need to pack them again?"

"It's all in there." Said Gilbert. He quickly scribbled down a note and grabbed some sticky tape. "I'm just going to stick this to the door when we leave."

"Okay." Said Matthew. He quickly grabbed the keys from the front desk and walked out the door. "Oh, that reminds me I got a letter about a class reunion the other day. It's in a few months…"

Gilbert chuckled a little as he followed Matthew out the door and stuck the note to the door. "Liz will probably knock me out because we never actually played wither her band."

"Oh yeah… Oh well. Stuff came up."

"Ja, but she'll still murder me when we get there."

Matthew rolled his eyes as he locked the door. "You would make a terrible ghost."

The albino chuckled as he walked out to the van. "Ja, I guess I would… But would you try to perform an exorcism on me or would you keep me around?"

Matthew chuckled as he followed Gilbert, climbing into the passenger seat. "I would get you cremated and keep your ashes in a pure silver flask. How about that?"

"Such the romantic." Said Gilbert as he climbed into the driver's seat. He started up the van and they started the long trek to their destination. "If I do end up becoming a ghost one of these days I'm going to be pissed if you keep my ashes in a silver flask."

The blond smiled and looked out the window. "It's starting to snow again… Reminds me of back then."

"You say that every time it starts to snow." Said Gilbert.

"I know… It's just a happy and sad memory at the same time." Said Matthew quietly. "Happy because I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life and it felt good to help someone, but sad because well… the work can be depressing."

"But the good outweighs the bad, ja?"

"Oui. The good always outweighs the bad." Said Matthew. He yawned a little and closed his eyes. "Do you like this line of work, Gil?"

"Of course I do." Said Gilbert. "It's kind of cool to do something that's not normal and it helps that they pay is pretty good."

Matthew chuckled lightly. "Okay…"

After a few hours they pulled up outside an old mansion. It looked like it had been restored a few times because some of the brickwork looked out of place. Matthew was so caught up with looking at the architecture he didn't notice Gilbert getting out of the van. It was only when the albino opened the passenger door did Matthew snap out of his daze.

"You coming Birdie or are you just going to sit there?" Asked the albino with a grin.

Matthew chuckled and quickly got out of the van. "Of course Gil. Let's get to work then eh?"

**The End**

**Shinigami-cat: **And that's the end of that! I hope you all enjoyed this story and I tried to tie up as many loose ends as possible with this chapter. I hope I didn't disappoint too many people with the ending and everything. Thanks you to everyone that reviewed and those that read this at all. Thank you all so much. Please look at my other stories if you have time and please review.


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